One in a Million
by Naley4ever616
Summary: Nathan meets Haley and she immediately turns his world upside down. Will her history keep them from being together? Or can Nathan prove he's the one for her?
1. Assassin

**A/N**: Hey guys! So this is my first multi-chapter fic! The idea was prompted to me by kaya17tj so I hope you like it! Reviews are welcome! :)

_You get in, you get done and then you get gone  
You never leave a trace, or show your face, you get gone  
Should've turned around and left before the sun came up again  
But the sun came up again_

-John Mayer, _Assassin_

"Seriously Luke, hurry up or we're going to be late." Nathan yelled at his brother from the couch in the living room as he watched the seconds tick by on the clock on the wall. Lucas was back in Nathan's closet trying on shirts to wear. This happened every time they went out. Nathan's contract to play basketball with the New York Knicks had allowed him to rent an impressive-sized flat, for New York City at least, along with the furniture and items to accessorize it. Even though his team had been in its offseason the last few months, he'd still kept working out and practicing. Other than his brother and agent, Clay Evans, he didn't have many demands from his personal life.

Nathan's basketball career was actually why they were going out for drinks that night. They were celebrating his successful first season with the Knicks and the renewal of his contract for another three years, which had allowed him to expand areas of his wardrobe now being perused by his brother. Lucas's salary as a writer wasn't bad, but it was nothing compared to what Nathan was making. And since Lucas hadn't put a book out in a while he was starting to get stretched for money.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." A few minutes later, Lucas emerged from the bedroom sporting one of the new dark blue crew-neck sweaters Nathan had acquired just recently. He held his arms out and spun to model it. "What do you think?"

"It looks fine, c'mon let's go."

Before Lucas could go back and try something else on Nathan grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out. He made sure the door was locked and then headed down the hall to the elevator. As they walked out of the building Nathan waved to the doorman.

"See you later Jimmy. Oh, and if Lucas comes back here with a girl tonight, please don't let them into my apartment. The clean-up after last time took forever."

Jimmy nodded his acknowledgement and tried to resist a smile at the obviously annoyed Lucas. "Sure thing Mr. Scott."

Lucas was quick on Nathan's heels once they got outside. "Aw c'mon Nathan, that was one time and I told you it wouldn't happen again!"

"You know Lucas, coming home to a trashed apartment after being on the road for two weeks isn't exactly my idea of fun." Nathan laughed as Lucas's shoulders shrugged like a defeated puppy dog. "Besides, if she really likes you she won't care if you still live in your mom's house and sleep in the same bed you used to wet yourself it." Nathan braced himself as Lucas gave him a punch on the arm.

"Yeah well at least I can maintain a steady relationship, whereas you find single women to use for one night and then go back to your place, alone." Lucas added emphasis on the last few words to make his point, and win the argument. But Nathan wasn't done and their debating continued until they got to the bar. Thanks to Lucas's delay, Clay was already there waiting on them. Lucas was still on Nathan's case when they sat down at their table.

"I mean seriously, when's the last time you've seen someone for more than a week?"

Clay's eyes darted back between Nathan and Lucas. "Whoa, did I miss something?"

"Oh Lucas is just making light of my non-existent love life."

"Well I'd have to say I agree with him Nate. You need a girl. And you need to keep her for more than one night."

Lucas gave Clay a slap on the back. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks so. By the way, what do you think of my sweater?"

Clay tried to hold in his laugh as he pretended to contemplate it. "I think it looked better on Nathan last week, but you still wear it pretty good." He and Nathan busted out laughing at Lucas's face. When Lucas got up to go get them a couple beers at the bar, Clay turned to Nathan.

"You know, I'm still not convinced he isn't gay."

Nathan laughed harder. "Sometimes I'm not either. But his extensive dating life proves us otherwise so we'll just have to wait and see."

Lucas came back and caught the end of their discussion. "Hell yeah, which is more than you can say."

Nathan took a long pull from his beer. "Seriously? We're back on this?"

"I bet you couldn't even get a girl's phone number."

"Clay, ask Lucas who dated the most girls in their class during high school?"

"Oh yeah Nate, going back to high school girls? These are real, grown women. Completely different."

"You know what jackass? I could get the number of any woman here."

"Fine. I bet you fifty bucks you can't get a woman's phone number tonight."

What had started off as a playful stab at Nathan's absent love-life was starting to piss him off. It was time to prove Lucas wrong. "Deal." He held his hand up to shake with Lucas's, then began scanning the crowd for his victim. Clay chose this point to jump in.

"Wait, shouldn't Lucas pick the girl?"

Nathan gave Clay a glare. "You're lucky I don't fire you right now."

Clay held up his hands innocently and smiled. "You can't fire me. I'm the best."

Lucas ignored them and jumped on Clay's suggestion. "Don't worry Nate, I'll find you an easy one." He got up to walk around.

"Seriously, I really could date if I wanted. I just don't have time."

"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm the one who decided to get married and settle down. I have a feeling Lucas doesn't really approve of that theory any more than yours. But I'm at least getting sex out of the deal, so I guess that takes me off the hook." He laughed and jumped, avoiding a peanut Nathan sent sailing at his head.

"Yeah, but Sarah is great. There aren't a lot of girls like that out there."

"But how are you going to find one if you don't look?"

Nathan was just about to jab at Clay's philosophical side when Lucas came back, looking pleased with himself. "Alright, I've got one. You see that girl up there at the bar in the blue shirt?"

Nathan's eyes followed the line of people up there until he found a group of girls chatting at the bar. There were two girls, one blonde and one brown-haired, who definitely had the proper attire for a bar, but there was one more girl with them who seemed a little out of place. He couldn't get a good look at her face, but he liked the way her dark-chocolate hair curled down her back. Her light blue blouse was accompanied by a black skirt that was hugging her thighs as she crossed her legs. Clay had apparently found her too.

"Ooo, nice pick Lucas."

"Thank you, thank you. You're not gonna back out are you? I guess I don't really care. Either way I'll be taking your money so it's up to you if you'd like to go through the process of denial or just give it to me now."

"Hell no, I'm still in. But I'm going to need another one of these first." He held up his empty beer bottle. Clay jumped up first.

"I'll get this round." Clay brought three beers back and passed them out. Nathan sipped his slowly, trying to give himself some time to develop a plan of attack. For a moment his gaze met hers, but she looked away so fast he wasn't even sure it really happened. As he watched her he found himself lost in her movements. He almost forgot to breathe as he watched her run her fingers through her hair, giving him a glimpse of her face.

"Time's up Nathan. Get on up there. A bet's a bet. I wanna see a phone number. " Lucas pulled Nathan out of his thoughts and he looked down at his suddenly empty bottle.

Nathan got up and straightened out his shirt. "I sure hope you've got fifty bucks on you." He turned and made his way to the bar.

xxxxx

"Seriously guys, can we lay off my outfit?" Haley sighed. Her friends Brooke and Peyton still hadn't finished giving her crap for showing up tonight in her work clothes. But some of them had jobs that required a professional look and didn't allow much time to change.

Brooke wasn't done. "Haley, I'm a professional designer. It's bad for my reputation to be seen in public with someone who dresses, well, like this at a bar. I have no idea how you expect to pick up men in those clothes."

"Well, believe it or not, maybe I didn't come out here to pick up a guy. Maybe I just wanted to spend some time with my friends, though I'm not sure that's what I'd call you two."

"You know Hales, Brooke has a point. You should at least make an effort."

"Ok, for the last time, I do not want to pick up a guy tonight. And you two have no room to talk. Brooke, your relationships are full of sex, dinners, and more sex. Peyton, you haven't even seen Jake in, what, six months? So lay off."

"Oh c'mon, we're just having fun." Peyton played Haley's rant off, but Brooke was a little more hurt.

"Ok, first of all, I do NOT just date guys for sex. They just all happen to be, well, extremely skilled in that area. And second, we don't always do dinner. We have lunch too."

Haley laughed. Typical Brooke. She tuned the girl out as she continued her list of reasons to prove she was as shallow as everyone else thought. Haley turned on her stool and began scanning the crowd. Her eyes stopped at a table with three guys who looked like they were in some kind of a discussion. The two blondish-haired boys were kind of cute, but looked more like Brooke's type. The other one was different though. He kept running his fingers through his dark hair, as if he was tired of whatever they were talking about.

She had no idea how long she'd been staring, but suddenly she realized that his eyes were staring back at hers. She quickly turned away, too scared to look back and see if he was still looking, so she focused her gaze ahead of her, but strained her ears to hear what they were discussing. Even though they were kind of close the buzz of the crowd made it hard to hear everything. She caught something about a bet and a phone number. Then out of her peripherals she saw them all turn, in her direction. Were they all staring at her? Peyton must've heard her thoughts.

"Um, Haley?"

She turned back to her friends. "Yeah?"

"Do you know why there's a whole table of men staring at you?"

"Actually, I might," she muttered under her breath.

But Peyton didn't hear her. She took Brooke's arm and slowly began backing away. "We'll, uh, be back later." Their eyes were focused on something behind Haley, and Haley had a feeling she knew exactly what it was they were looking at.


	2. Enchanted

**A/N: **I realize I didn't address this in the first chapter, so just to clarify I DO NOT OWN ANY PART OF ONE TREE HILL, just the fluff in my head :) Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of this next chapter!

_Your eyes whispered "Have we met?"  
Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me.  
The playful conversation starts,  
Counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy.  
And it was enchanting to meet you  
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you._

Nathan felt like his walk to this woman was taking forever. But he soon found himself standing right beside her.

"Hi."

She turned and looked up at him. "Hi."

"Um, I'm Nathan." He held out his hand as he introduced himself. _Seriously? Shaking her hand? Maybe I _am _out of practice._ However silly he thought it was, she returned the gesture.

"Hello Nathan. It's about time."

He stood there like an idiot. Had he missed her giving him her name? And what did she mean by that last part? "I'm sorry?"

She nodded back in the direction of the table where Clay and Lucas were trying to secretively watch their show. "I overheard you and your friends making your bet. You _are _over here to try to get my number, right?" Nathan scrambled for an explanation, but luckily she wasn't going to require one. "I thought so. Well if you're going to win you're going to have to sit down. I'm not going to give my number to a guy before talking to him first."

Slightly baffled, Nathan took a seat. The bartender came by and Nathan ordered another beer, then turned to offer a drink to this mysterious woman sitting next to him, who ordered the same.

"So do you do this often?" she asked, taking a sip of her beer.

"Do what?"

"Prey on innocent single women in bars."

Nathan laughed. "Well when you put it that way, I sound like a creep. But no, usually I sit back and watch my brother make a fool of himself. This is just them trying to prove a point that I don't date enough. And if this is too awkward for you I would completely understand. You just tell me when you want me to leave."

She smiled and Nathan thought he saw a little blush creep into her cheeks. It looked amazing. "Actually, I know exactly what you mean. My friends try to set me up all the time. They don't understand that some things can't be forced." She gave a quick glance back to where Peyton and Brooke were also secretively trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, then looked back up at him. "So we'll do what we need to make sure you win this bet." She smiled and Nathan was pretty sure the room got brighter.

"Well I really appreciate it, um…."

"Haley. My name is Haley."

Was there a reason this name sounded so perfect to him? "Well thank you." Nathan took a long drink. It had suddenly gotten extremely hotter in here than it was before. "So, Haley, what do you do?"

"I'm actually a music teacher at a school downtown. We had parent-teacher conferences tonight," Haley gestured at her outfit, "hence this ensemble."

"I don't think it looks that bad." There was that blush again.

"So what about you?"

"I'm a professional basketball player."

Haley stared at him for a second. "Are you really? Or is that just a line you use to pick up women?"

Nathan laughed and reached into his back pocket to get his wallet. He held up his access pass to show her. "I'm really on the team. This gets me into the arena and locker room. But I'm not going to lie; pulling the 'I'm a professional basketball player' line can be helpful."

"But only when you're not leaving the womanizing to your brothers?"

"Oh, just the guy in the blue is my brother, Lucas. The other one is my agent. Luke and I met him when we were in school at Duke University."

Haley's eyebrows arched, "Wow, Duke? That's impressive. And you both went there? You must be pretty close, you and your brother, though you don't really look much alike."

Nathan started messing with the label on his beer. "Now that's a long, twisted story that I'll spare you. Basically we have the same father, different mothers. So we hated each other until our junior year in high school, but then we both ended up on the basketball team and were pretty much forced to get along."

"But only you made it to the NBA?"

Nathan scooted closer to Haley, and to his surprise, and satisfaction, she didn't move away. "Well, don't tell him this, but I was the better player."

"Oh I see. Well your secret is safe with me." She smiled and Nathan couldn't help but smile too, though he probably looked like a goof when she was looking, well, beautiful.

"So, a music teacher. You must be good at, um, music then?" _Great, Scott. Don't you just sound like a bumbling idiot._

Haley laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I studied it in college, and almost made it big, but it didn't feel right at the time so I passed."

"So then you decided to teach?"

"Yeah. I tutored in high school and really liked it, so I thought teaching could be fun. And now I'm in charge of this after-school music program for inner city kids. It's actually more successful than we thought it would be. We have some really great kids come through our program."

"That sounds pretty rewarding. Now I look like the greedy athlete who only thinks about himself." He smiled, letting her know he was just kidding.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to give back some day. For now you'll just have to focus on scoring those touchdowns."

Nathan couldn't help busting out laughing.

"What?"

"You don't really watch sports, do you?" Haley shook her head. "Well, you score touchdowns in football. Basketball is when you put the orange ball in the net." He watched as she thought about what he'd said, then laughed at herself.

"I'm sorry. Sports really isn't my thing."

"That's alright. I probably couldn't name more than two instruments, let alone play them."

Haley smiled and finished off her beer, then took a look behind him at. "Well I think we've kept them waiting long enough. I suppose you'll be wanting my number now?"

Nathan thought for a second. "No, it's alright. It's not that big of a deal. I really enjoyed talking with you and I don't want you to think I just did it to get your number." Did he really just say that? God he sounded pathetic.

"Well, what if I said I had a really good time too and wanted to give you my number so you could call me for real?"

"Uh, well then, sure. I'd be happy to."

Haley reached over the counter to grab a pen and clean napkin from behind the bar. As she did part of her shirt came untucked, exposing some of her skin, and Nathan found himself resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. He watched as she wrote her number down and slid the napkin across the counter to him. As she did her eyes slipped behind him. "Your friends don't look too happy. Looks like they're going to be off your case now."

"Oh it probably won't last too long." Nathan took the napkin and slipped it in his pocket. "But thanks again. I really do appreciate it. And I really did have a great time." He threw a couple bills down on the counter to cover their drinks then got up to help Haley put her coat on.

"I had a really good time too." She fixed her collar and grabbed her purse from the stool. "I'll help you out even more. How about walking me home?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that. You've already done more than enough for me."

"You're not asking. I'm offering."

Nathan couldn't believe this. "Ok. Sure. Um, let me go grab my coat. I'll be right back." He weaved his way through the crowd to get back to his table. He grabbed his coat off the back of the chair. "See you later boys." Not waiting for a smartass remark from his brother or agent Nathan made his way back to Haley. He felt an odd sense of relief when he was back with her, like being apart from her was something he never wanted to do again.

"Did they say anything?"

Nathan offered her his arm and they headed for the door. "Nope. Which is a defeat in and of itself. Great work." Nathan smiled and reached forward to open the door for her. Once outside he asked, "So, where to?"

Haley gestured somewhere off to the left, opposite of the direction to his place. "It's only a few blocks this way."

As they walked and talked, Nathan silently thanked the weather for being so cold that night. The last few weeks had been abnormally warm for late September, but the cold was finally starting to settle in. And thanks to the chill in the air, Haley had her arm around Nathan's and was snuggling up quite close to him. Anyone who saw them would think they'd been dating for a long time, and this made Nathan realize he liked the idea of them being a couple. He liked it a lot.

"Nathan?"

He snapped out of his day dream, "Yeah?"

"We're here." Haley gestured to the building they were now stopped in front of.

"Oh, um, ok." This was new territory for Nathan. Whenever he'd gone home with a girl from a bar there had been no question regarding his invitation into her place. And regardless of his initial intentions for meeting her this evening, he was quickly realizing that he didn't want it to end, but he didn't want to jeopardize anything by going too fast.

Nathan walked up the steps with her and watched as she put the key in the door and turned the handle to open it before turning back to him. He brought a hand up to cup her face, then bent down to kiss her cheek. He pulled back, wondering if he'd really just done that. He'd always been the one to make fun of any guy who said goodnight with a kiss like that, but for some reason, in this moment, it felt exactly right. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

Instead of answering with words Haley grabbed the front of his coat and pulled him down so his face was close to hers. She paused for a moment before slowly pressing her lips against his. Nathan couldn't lie; he'd been with quite a few women before, but no kiss had ever felt like this. For a moment all the horns and sirens in the city were blocked out and all he felt were her sweet lips moving with his. Before getting too far she pulled back, but kept her hold on his coat. She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear, "Do you want to come in?"

For the first time in, well, ever Nathan had to think. Of course he did. But he really didn't want to push this. Then again, she was asking. But what if she was testing him to see if he would force anything on her? The way she was biting her lower lip, though, was simply irresistible. "I'd love to."

Haley smiled and reached up on her toes to kiss him quick before pulling him through the doorway. Nathan waited as she locked the door, then spun around and grabbed his hand to lead him up the stairs. Racing behind her Nathan followed her through what looked like a foyer, though in the dark it could've been anything, until they got to a bedroom. He shut the door and slipped out of his coat, which he set down on the floor as he slipped off his shoes. He turned and saw that Haley had already done the same.

Wasting no time Nathan closed the space between them in two strides and this time it was him who brought her lips to his. Picking up where they left off, he began tracing his tongue along her lower lip, pleased when she met his with her own. As they dueled and began exploring, Haley's hands embarked on their own expedition. Nathan hissed as her hands, still cold from their walk outside, came into contact with his hot skin as she slipped them up his shirt and around his back.

They broke their kiss for a moment as Haley pulled his shirt up over his head. Reconnecting, Nathan slid his hands down her side, loving how she shivered under his touch. He found the zipper on her skirt and slowly unzipped it, giving her an opportunity to stop him if she wanted. She didn't.

Haley stepped out of her skirt and then took the liberty of removing her shirt as Nathan did away with his own pants. Looking back up he saw Haley standing in nothing but her bra and….was that a thong? From his experience, she didn't come across as the type of girl who wore those in public, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. As she lay back on the bed he caught a glimpse of how wet she was and was pleased he had the same effect on her that she was having on him.

Nathan couldn't resist tasting her skin. As he crawled up over her he began kissing a trail up along her stomach, through the valley between her breasts, up her neck, and back to her welcoming lips. He could've spent hours exploring her body with his mouth, but for now his hands would have to do.

Using one hand to help hold himself over her, his other began playing along her side, then across her stomach, and down to slip her thong down her legs. Haley aided Nathan with his own boxers, and soon they found themselves mere centimeters from being one. For a brief second Nathan felt a bit apprehensive. What if she wasn't satisfied with him? Haley, apparently, had no doubts about his abilities and jerked her hips up, connecting them.

The gasp that came from Haley's mouth matched the moan that came from Nathan's. She was able to take him in her completely, and the feeling of her heated walls around his entirety was almost enough to push him over the edge right there. Nathan began to move and focused his attention on the flesh above her bra. Hearing his name fall from Haley's lips urged him to work harder, faster. He felt her wrap his legs around him, constricting his movement but allowing him to plunge deeper.

Soon Nathan felt her body go rigid underneath him. He looked up and saw her face in ecstasy. That look, and the feeling of her walls contracting around him, was his undoing. Her name spilled from his lips as he let himself go. White flashed before his eyes and he mustered all the strength he could to keep from falling on her as they each rode out their orgasm.

Their breathing slowly began to return to normal. Haley ran a hand through Nathan's hair and pulled him down to kiss her. Once their bodies had cooled Nathan rolled over, Haley turning over to face him, and he pulled the covers up over their naked bodies. He smiled as he brushed away the hair that had fallen in her face. He didn't want anything to keep him from losing himself in her eyes. He felt his heart do a little flip when she smiled back and he couldn't help but lean forward and gently kiss her forehead. After a few minutes he asked the question that had been festering in the back of his mind since she invited him in.

"Do you want me to leave?" He braced himself, not knowing what he'd do if she said no. For a moment he saw something flash in her eyes. Fear maybe? Did she want him to leave but not know how to tell him? He certainly didn't want to push anything on her, so he started to get up.

"Wait," she grabbed his arm, "don't go."

"Are you sure?"

Haley nodded her head. As Nathan got back under the covers she lifted her head to kiss him before rolling over and snuggling herself up against his warm body. Nathan wrapped an arm around her stomach and felt her breathing slow as she began to fall asleep. Nathan was tired, but couldn't tear his gaze away from her peaceful face. This was a vision he could never get tired of seeing, but soon Nathan's heavy eyelids became too much and he let himself fall off into the land of dreams, hoping that the woman he held in his arms would be there too.

_Your eyes whispered "Have we met?"  
Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me.  
The playful conversation starts,  
Counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy.  
And it was enchanting to meet you  
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you._

-Taylor Swift, _Enchanted_


	3. Wonderwall

_Backbeat the word was on the street  
That the fire in your heart is out  
I'm sure you've heard it all before  
But you never really had a doubt  
I don't believe that anybody feels  
The way I do about you now_

"God Peyton, what was _so_ important you had to wake me up this early?"

Peyton heard her friend come in the door and sighed. Brooke certainly did know how to make her presence known. "Could you be any louder Brooke?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Now what's up?"

Peyton walked over to Brooke and lowered her voice. "Do you remember that guy Haley left the bar with last night?" Brooke nodded and Peyton pointed upstairs, her eyes explaining everything.

"He's _here_?" Brooke's face didn't hide her shock, but it did turn into approval as she thought it through. "Well good for her. It's been too long since she's been with anyone and she was starting to get grumpy. Maybe we should let them have some alone time." 

Brooke turned to head back out, but Peyton grabbed her arm and spun her back around. "I said _he's_ here. Haley's not."

"She left a guy here again? I thought we got through to her the last time this happened."

"Apparently not. When I got here this morning she was already gone."

"Well I can't say I was expecting them to get married or anything, but he seemed nice enough. And he was way better than those last few guys she's seen. I thought she'd at least see this one through the morning."

"Maybe that was why. Maybe she just got scared because he was different. And with her history, I can't blame her."

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Brooke's head. "Is he still up there sleeping?"

"Yeah, why?" Peyton saw _the look_ pass across Brooke's face, but wasn't quick enough to stop her as she turned to tiptoe up the stairs. "Brooke, wait!" Peyton hushed behind her.

Peyton finally caught up with her friend at the doorway to the bedroom. For the second time that morning she took in the sight of this tall, dark-haired man in the bed, the sheet only covering what was below his very fine abs.

"How could Haley leave _this_ behind?" Brooke whispered. Oh well, her loss. "Time to check out his credentials." She started sneaking across the room before Peyton could figure out what she was up to. She got to the side of the bed and hesitated only briefly before fisting the sheet and pulling it back.

xxxxx

Nathan slowly began to stir; he thought he heard voices coming from the end of the bed. He was about to pass it off as nothing, but then felt the sheet start to move across his skin and the memories of the night before came flooding back. _Haley._ Nathan smiled and opened his eyes, but that wasn't who he was saw standing over him. "Son of a bitch!"

The brown-haired girl let go, backed up and shrugged. "I've been called worse." She folded her arms across her chest.

Nathan pulled the sheet back up. He recognized this girl and the blonde one in the doorway from the bar the night before. They had left the bar just before he went up to talk to Haley. The thought of her pulled his attention back to looking around the room, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where's-"

"-Haley?" Nathan turned to the blonde girl. "She's not here. And unless you want to be charged with sexual harassment I suggest you leave. Now."

"Sexual harassment? I'm not even doing anything!"

"Actually, you're lying, uninvited, in a bed, naked. I'm pretty sure that counts for something."

Nathan couldn't believe this. This was definitely not how he had pictured the morning after one of the best nights he'd ever had. "I wasn't uninvited, I came in with Haley."

"Who, conveniently, isn't here."

"Do you know where she went?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me?"

"No."

"Seriously?"

"If she wanted you to find her she would've told you. But, seeing as she hasn't left any indication that she wants you to pursue her, I'm going to say she doesn't want you to."

Nathan's foggy thoughts went back to the night before, when she'd written her number on the napkin that was stuffed into his pocket. "Wait, she gave me her number."

A smirk came across the brown-haired girl's face as she turned back and shared a look with the girl in the doorway. The latter responded, "Well then I suggest you call it and clear all this up. But do it after you leave. If you're still here in two minutes I'm seriously calling the cops." The brown-haired girl laughed as they turned and left the room.

Not willing to see if she was going to keep her promise, Nathan jumped up and threw on his clothes. He was able to remember his way out of the apartment while simultaneously managing to avoid those two girls. He walked down the doorstep and pulled his coat tighter around him, then fished his phone out of the pocket. The clock stated it was only a little after 8am and the city was already bustling with people dressed in suits on their way to work. Even he should be headed to the arena for weight lifting, but that was the furthest thing from his mind.

Nathan made a quick turn on his heels and headed to find the one guy who could help him figure all this out.

xxxxx

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Lucas yelled at the person who was rapping repeatedly on his front door. He opened it and was almost knocked over as Nathan came busting through.

"Dude, I really need to talk to you."

"Nate do you have any idea how early it is? Some of us had a little more to drink than others last night." Lucas shuffled over to the kitchen area of his apartment and started a pot of coffee. "And if you're here for your money, you're wasting your time. I don't have it."

"I really could care less about the money right now. I need to ask your advice on something."

Lucas's eyebrows raised in surprise. "_Me?_ You're asking _me _for advice?"

"Don't flatter yourself. It's about the girl I met last night." Nathan pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and took a seat. "So, after we left I walked her home and she invited me in and we, uh, well we-"

Lucas caught on and gave his brother a slap on the back. "Score! Way to go man! So are you going to see her again?"

"Well, uh, that's kind of the problem. See, when I woke up this morning she was gone."

Lucas laughed. "Are you serious? Dude that sucks."

"I know."

"But didn't you get her number last night?"

Nathan pulled the napkin out of his pocket. "Yeah, but does she still want me to call her? I mean, she didn't stick around this morning, so what if she changed her mind?"

"Look, if she gave you her number, then she obviously sees something in you. Maybe she just had to leave early this morning and didn't want to wake you. You won't know until you call and ask." Lucas got up and went to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"I guess." Nathan pulled out his phone and started typing in the numbers, saying them as he pushed each button. "212-201-3517."

As Lucas came back to sit down at the table he saw Nathan's face light up when someone picked up, but then darken as he listened. "What is it? Did she answer?"

Nathan slowly brought the phone down from his ear and set it on the table. "That wasn't her number."

"What?"

"It wasn't her number!" Nathan's voice got louder.

"Who's was it then?"

Nathan fisted his phone. "It was the "One-Night-Stand" hotline," he said through his teeth.

This time Lucas doubled over laughing. "Are you serious?" he said in between fits of laughter. "Does that even exist? Oh well, I guess that's a bust."

Nathan grabbed Lucas's shirt to shut him up. "You don't understand. I _have_ to find her."

xxxxx

Haley slowly put her key in the door and unlocked it. She had a feeling she knew exactly what would be waiting for her on the other side of the door, and after the long day she had at work she was in no mood to deal with that. All she wanted to do was slip on some comfy clothes, curl up with a book and forget all her problems.

She shut the door behind her and quietly tip toed down the hallway to her bedroom. Just when she thought she'd avoided the danger, she walked into her room and found Peyton and Brooke sitting on the end of her bed.

"Can we please not do this now?"

Her roommates looked at each other then back at her. "I don't think so. You need to talk about what happened last night."

Haley rolled her eyes and threw her bag down by the door while slipping off her shoes. "Oh come on Brooke, I'm sure you of all people know what happens when you leave a bar with a guy."

Peyton jumped in before Brooke got off on the wrong subject. "Ok, then we need to talk about what happened _this morning_. I know I said the bedroom at my recording studio was free to be used so we didn't have to bring guys back here to our place, but that doesn't mean you get to leave them there for me to find when I go into work in the morning. I mean, if you didn't want to have to deal with him, you should've just asked him to leave last night."

"I didn't want him to leave last night," Haley mumbled as she padded across the room to her closet. She pulled out some sweats and began to change out of her work clothes.

"Well then what changed between then and this morning?"

Haley came back out and sat in the space Peyton and Brooke had made for her in between them on the bed. "I don't know. I guess it just felt like one of those things where I was going to end up liking him more than he liked me, and I wanted to avoid that mess down the road."

Brooke brought her hand up to smooth the hair away from Haley's face. "Sweetie, you need to realize that not all guys are like Dean and Chris; they're not all going to leave you. I guarantee you there's a guy out there who wants to be with you forever, but you need to give some of these guys a chance otherwise you're never going to find him."

Once past the initial shock of something this deep coming from Brooke, Haley nodded. "I guess you're right."

"And you need to stop giving that hotline number to all those guys. The people there are probably wondering who the heck you are and why so many guys are calling for you." Peyton laughed, Haley and Brooke joining in as well.

"Yeah, that's probably true too."

Brooke jumped off the bed. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I think we're in need of a girls night in. Peyton?"

"Absolutely."

"Haley?"

Haley looked at each of them. "No, you guys have meetings and plans tonight. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Peyton gave a playful slap to Haley's thigh then jumped up beside Brooke. "Too late Hales, we've already cancelled our plans. You're stuck with us for the night."

"Oh is that so?"

"Yep. Peyton's going to go grab a pizza and you and I are going to go get alcohol and movies. Sound good?"

Haley smiled. "Sounds great."

Brooke and Peyton leaned down to gather Haley in a group hug. "We're here for you Haley James. No matter what." Haley wrapped an arm around each of her roommates, surprised at how emotional she was feeling about this whole situation. "Now, let's get going."

The two girls started to make their way out of the room but Haley didn't get up. "I'll be out in a minute."

Peyton gave Haley a reassuring smile before shutting her door. She could hear Brooke going on about what movies she wanted to get as they went out to get ready to leave.

Haley lay back on her bed and covered her hands with her face, trying to figure out what was going on with her. She'd been with guys for one night before and had no second thoughts about ditching them the next day. But for some reason, Nathan was different, and she found herself asking _what if?_ _What if_ she'd stayed this morning? _What if_ she'd given him her real phone number instead of the hotline one? _What if_ she'd told Nathan how amazing he made her feel and how he seemed different to her than any other guy she'd met? _What if_ they had had the opportunity to go on another date? And then another? And then another? _What if_ they would have been able to make it all the way to forever?

Memories of the night before had been threatening to invade her mind all day, but Haley had pushed them back, not wanting to risk the guilt and sadness at what could've been. But now Haley couldn't hold them back any longer.

She remembered how he'd looked at her right from the start. She knew she had a decent body, and most guys just looked at her like she was a piece of meat or something, but not Nathan. His eyes weren't filled with lust, but rather something that made a fire burn in the pit of her stomach. She loved the way he had held her when they were together. She knew from running her hands up and down his muscular arms that he was more than capable of making her do anything he wanted. But instead he had held her in the gentlest way; like he was afraid he would hurt her.

Then when he was finally inside her, oh God, she couldn't to do anything but relish in the intense pleasure he was giving her as he hit spots no man had ever hit before. And the things his mouth had done to her…..Haley almost came from those memories alone. The high she got from that pleasure was unlike anything she'd ever felt with anyone. And she found herself never wanting to get that kind of pleasure ever again, unless it was with Nathan.

xxxxx

Nathan slammed the door to his apartment and threw his duffel bag down on the floor. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He'd just come from one of the worst practices of his basketball career. Dropping passes and missing shots, his mind couldn't seem to focus on anything but Haley. Luke hadn't been much help, and didn't have enough pull in the literature world to help find her. Nathan had taken one look at the list of schools in the New York City area and knew he wasn't going to be able to find her that way either. If she'd given him a wrong number, how did he know Haley was even her real name?

As furious as he was at her, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. Not even a little. Not even at all. Whenever he thought of how she'd taken control at the doorstep and kissed him, all his anger washed away and he focused on how she had felt and how she had tasted.

Nathan laid down on the couch and let his thoughts keep running. In his mind he was with her again, following her up the stairs and into the bedroom. It was like he was standing there before her, taking in her beautiful body once again and wanting to worship every square inch of it with his mouth. He remembered the look on her face as he thrust himself deep within her, and how her grip on him got tighter as she came closer and closer to falling over the edge of ecstasy. He hadn't had nearly enough time with her, and now he didn't know if he was ever going to get to see her again.

_Backbeat the word was on the street  
That the fire in your heart is out  
I'm sure you've heard it all before  
But you never really had a doubt  
I don't believe that anybody feels  
The way I do about you now_

-Oasis, _Wonderwall_


	4. Emotions

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's read and reviewed! You have no idea how motivating you are, so don't stop! And enjoy this chapter! And of course, let me know what you think :)**

_You've got me feeling emotions  
Deeper than I've ever dreamed of  
You've got me feeling emotions  
Higher than the heavens above_

"Luke, I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a bookstore Nate."

"Yeah, but do I look like the kind of guy who goes into bookstores?"

Lucas stepped back to mockingly look Nathan over before going into the store. "Of course not. But you've spent the entire last week moping around your apartment and sucking it up on the basketball court. I thought you could use a distraction."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. His search for Haley hadn't been very successful. In fact, it hadn't been successful at all. The only physical proof he had of actually meeting her that night was a phony phone number on a napkin, and even that was a dead end. "Alright fine. So what are we looking for exactly?" Nathan was following Lucas as he weaved in and out of aisles of book shelves.

"I'm looking for the new John Grisham novel. It's been sold out everywhere I've looked." Lucas squatted to get a book from the bottom shelf. He opened it and started flipping through the pages.

Nathan fiddled with books that were at his height, straightening them up on their dusty shelves. "Isn't there something wrong with an author buying a book by another author? I mean, you're his competition and yet you're buying his book."

"Grisham and I are in totally different genres, so it really doesn't matter." Lucas snapped the book shut and stood back up. "Besides, you're playing for the Knicks and yet you still cheer for the Bobcats. Isn't _that_ wrong?"

"I grew up cheering for the Bobcats ok? I'm not going to stop liking them because I play for another team."

Lucas held up his hands defensively. "I'm not accusing you Nate, just showing you they're the same. Geez, maybe we should find you a book about how to get over a one-night stand."

Nathan was about to lay on his comeback when he caught a glimpse of someone in the next aisle over. In the slit between the books and shelf he could only see their eyes, but he'd recognize those eyes anywhere. They'd been haunting him for the last week.

"Ok Nate, it wasn't _that_ good of a zinger, so stop with the sarcasm."

Nathan started moving down the aisle, not tearing his gaze away from these eyes for fear he'd look back and find them gone. "I'll be right back." He rushed the rest of the way down the aisle and turned to go up the next one. He held his breath as he got closer, letting it out when he realized it was really her. "Haley?"

Haley looked up and dropped the book she had been looking at. "Nathan! I…uh…." she bent down to pick up her book. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm here with my brother. What're you doing here?"

"I, um, I'm just looking for a new book."

"I hear the new Grisham book is pretty good." Both heads turned to the shelf next to them to find Lucas peering in between the same slit Nathan had seen Haley through.

"Shut up Luke." Nathan glared at his brother until he walked away, then turned his attention back to Haley. "So I tried calling you, but there was a problem. That number isn't yours."

"Oh?" Haley slid the book back onto the shelf.

"Yeah. You know if you didn't want to give me your number you could've just told me instead of sending me on a wild goose chase."

Haley crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you really expect me to give you my real number? I just met you! I'm not going to give my number to some stranger I met in a bar."

"But you'll take them home and invite them in to have _sex_ with you?" Nathan couldn't help the exasperated look on his face.

Haley looked around at all the people who were now watching until they turned back away. "I really don't see why you're so surprised. Isn't that why you came over in the first place? To find someone to take home?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Nathan walked closer to her, his voice dropping so only she could here. "Maybe that's how it started, but I wasn't expecting…." Nathan paused, wondering if he should go on.

"Expecting what?" she whispered.

Nathan closed the rest of the space between them and gently pressed his lips to hers. "I wasn't expecting how you were going to me feel," he said as he pulled back.

He watched as Haley's eyes fluttered open and found his staring back. "I, um…" She took a deep breath, trying to get her mind out of the fog it was in. She'd been lying to herself all week about how Nathan had been just like any other guy she'd met and there was nothing special about him. But she was wrong, and this proved it. One kiss from him had her head spinning.

"I know we don't really know each other very well, but this week I have been going crazy wondering if I was ever going to get to see you again. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything, but I'd like to take you on a date Haley. Please?"

Everything Nathan said broke down any barriers she'd put up, and she was running out of reasons why they shouldn't see each other again. "Well, I guess one date couldn't hurt." She smiled when she saw Nathan's face light up.

"That would be great." Nathan felt a fool for how much he was smiling, but he couldn't stop. He put his hands in his pockets as he watched Haley pull a pad of paper and pen from her purse. It felt like eons as he watched her write each number down. He finally had her number. He knew he wouldn't be able to wait until tomorrow before he called her to set something up.

"Nathan Scott?"

Nathan turned around to see who was calling him, and his eyes settled on a blonde woman waving her hand frantically as she made her way down the aisle. Nathan turned back and saw that Haley had heard her too, her pen held still above the piece of paper with her number on it. She had a questioning look on her face and looked back from Nathan to the woman then back to Nathan again. Nathan put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right back. _Please_ don't go anywhere."

"Mandy, what are you doing here?" Nathan walked up to her and tried to lead her back out of the aisle, but she wasn't budging.

"I'm looking for a book silly. I thought I heard your voice from a few aisles over and I came to find you." Mandy brought up a finger to trace down Nathan's chest and lowered her voice to a seductive tone. "I was worried when you didn't call me back after our date a while back." Then she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "We have some things we need to finish."

Nathan couldn't believe she was doing this with Haley only a few yards behind him. There was no way he was going to let this girl ruin his chances at getting Haley's real number. He grabbed her arms and pushed her away from him. "I didn't call you because I didn't _want _to call you. Now you need to go."

Mandy stuck out her lower lip. "You don't like me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you it's just, I've found someone else that I want to be with. Do you understand?"

She stepped back and composed herself, but Nathan knew she wasn't going to leave quietly. "I see how it is. Big 'ole Nathan Scott is too good to be with just one girl? That's fine with me. I definitely don't need you." She gave him a little push on his chest and walked away.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. Of all the times to run into an ex. Oh well. He turned back around to talk to Haley, but stopped in his tracks. She wasn't there.

He dashed down to the other end of the aisle, looking both ways to see if he could still catch her leaving. He went up to the front of the store, thinking maybe she hadn't left yet. He stood there for a good twenty minutes before realizing she was already gone.

Nathan slowly made his way back to the aisle they'd been in, looking for something that she might've left behind that could help him find her. But the only sign that Haley had been there was the book she had been looking at, still poking out a little from the rest of the books on the shelf. Nathan pulled it out and flipped through it. As he held it, he felt a sense of comfort in the fact that Haley had been holding it too, not that long ago. This sense of comfort was disrupted when Nathan remembered he still had absolutely no way of finding her. But now he was more determined than ever.

Later on that night at Clay's Nathan was still trying to figure out how he was going to find Haley. Lucas was hoping that Clay would be able to have some kind of intervention to get Nathan over this girl, but they weren't having much luck.

"Look Nate, as your agent I have to tell you that you need to stop obsessing over this girl. It's not healthy, and quite frankly it's ruining your basketball career. In your last game you looked like you'd never played a minute of ball in your life! Coach had to take you out of the game were playing so bad."

Nathan got defensive. "Coach takes me out all the time."

"Yeah to give you a breather. Last night it was so you would stop making the team look bad. You only scored one basket Nate. _One._ They aren't paying you millions of dollars to score two points every game. You need to step it up or you're going to find yourself without a team."

The men looked up when Sarah walked in the room. "C'mon sweetie lighten up, he's just going through a little heartbreak. I'm sure you'd be in the same boat if I wasn't around." She came up behind Clay and wrapped her arms around his neck, bending down to kiss his cheek.

"I know I know, I'd be lost without you. Speaking of lost, did you ever find your phone this morning?"

"I did! It was over by the couch."

Clay turned his head to kiss his wife on the lips. "See? I told you, retracing your steps always helps when you lose something."

A light bulb went off in Nathan's head. "Retracing your steps?"

Clay turned back to him. "Yeah. When you lose something just retrace your steps to the last place you had it. Works for me every time."

Nathan jumped out of his chair like he was on fire. "That's it!" He went to grab his coat from the closet. Clay and Lucas were close behind him.

"Nathan? What's going on?"

"If I retrace my steps from the other night I can get back to where I spent the night with Haley."

Lucas grabbed his coat too, knowing Nathan was going to need a side-kick on this one. "Are you sure?"

"Of course! We'll just go back to the bar and then start from there. I can find it. I know I can." The last part sounded like Nathan was trying to convince himself more than anyone. He headed for the door, but Clay caught his arm.

"Promise me one thing Nate. If this turns up a dead end, you need to forget about this girl. I mean it. Or else it's going to ruin your career."

Nathan turned back smiling. "I promise. But you won't need to worry. I'm going to find her." With that he busted out the door, Lucas quick on his heels. Clay caught him, too.

"Lucas, don't let him get into any trouble ok? He's not thinking straight right now and I don't want to wake up and see his face plastered all over the New York Times. That damage control would be more than even I could handle."

xxxxx

"Haley how many more signs do you need to tell you that you need to give Nathan a chance?" Brooke and Peyton were still having a hard time understanding why Haley bailed out of the bookstore before giving Nathan her number.

"You guys didn't see this woman he was talking to. She was tall, pretty, and way more equipped to be a professional basketball player's girlfriend than I am."

"I think maybe you should let Nathan be the judge of that."

Haley walked over to the piano in Peyton's studio and started messing around on the keys. "It just seems too complicated, and we haven't even gone on a date yet. It's not supposed to be this hard."

All three heads turned when someone knocked on the door. Peyton left the room to answer it and Brooke sat down on the bench with Haley. "Honey, if finding love were easy, everyone would have it. But it's not."

Just as Haley was about to answer her attention was turned to whoever was at the door. She didn't know what they and Peyton were talking about, but she caught her name. As she listened she figured out just whose voice it was. "Oh my God, it's _him,_" she hissed.

Brooke looked from the doorway to Haley then back to the doorway. "Who? Nathan? Are you sure?" Haley nodded. "Then go talk to him! This might be your last chance!" Brooke grabbed Haley's arm and started to pull, but Haley wouldn't budge.

"No way! How do I explain leaving this afternoon? He's going to want to know why! I can't answer that!" Before Brooke could talk her into going out there Peyton came back in.

"Your friend is _very_ persistent Hales."

"What did he say?" Haley tried to act casual, not wanting to look as desperate as she felt.

"He asked if you were here. Don't worry, I said no. Then he asked if he could have your number."

"You didn't give it to him did you?"

"No. But like I said, he was very persistent. He gave me _his _phone number. He said that he knows you feel the same way about him that he feels about you and once you realize it you should give him a call." Peyton handed Haley the slip of paper with Nathan's digits on it.

"Damn Hales, I bet that boy's gonna be sleeping with his phone for the next year waiting for your call." Brooke peered over Haley's shoulder to look at the piece of paper.

"Well he's going to have to keep waiting, because I'm not calling it." Haley got up and headed for the door. "I'm going to go lie down. You guys come get me when you're ready to go to dinner."

Brooke and Peyton watched their friend leave. The second she was gone, Peyton dashed to the piano bench and sat next to Brooke. "We _really_ need to get her to call him," she whispered.

"I don't think we're going to be able to do that."

"Well then what are we going to do? I can't stand for her to be this mopey all the time. Whether she realizes it or not, she likes him."

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to come up with a plan to get Haley and Nathan together. Suddenly Brooke jumped up. "I've got it!" She started pacing back and forth, figuring out the little details.

"What is it?" Peyton's question went unheard, so she waited until Brooke finally got it all together.

"Yes! Ok, so you know that auction for Haley's after school program we have next week?"

"Yeah…"

"Well what if we invited Nathan to come? Then he'd show up and see her and ask her out. We'll keep a close eye on them to make sure no one interferes his time. It's perfect!" Brooke got her phone out of her purse and started dialing.

"Who are you calling?"

"Nathan. I memorized the number on the paper before Haley left." Peyton started to open her mouth but Brooke shushed her with a finger. She sat down again and held the phone out so Peyton could here.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is this Nathan?"

"Haley?"

"No, this is Brooke."

"Oh. Sorry, do I know you?"

"Not really. But I know Haley. Do you want to see her again?"

"Yes."

"I mean _really_ want to see her again?"

"Yes!"

Brooke smiled at Peyton before continuing. "Ok, then listen very carefully. I have a way for you to do that, but you have to do everything I tell you."

"I will I promise."

Brooke went on to tell him about the auction, and gave him the time and place. "Did you get it all down?"

"Yeah."

"Great. But you can't try to see her before this. Trust me; if you push too much you're going to ruin your chances at anything."

"I won't."

"Great. We'll see you next week then Mr. Scott." They hung up and Brooke slipped her phone back into her purse. "Well, I don't see how this plan won't work."

Peyton, on the other hand, was a bit more skeptical. "There's just one problem."

"And what's that?"

"How do we know Haley won't run away when she sees him again?"

Brooke laid a finger on her friend's nose. "We won't let her."

_You've got me feeling emotions  
Deeper than I've ever dreamed of  
You've got me feeling emotions  
Higher than the heavens above_

-Mariah Carey, _Emotions_


	5. Can't Take My Eyes Off You

_I know that the bridges that I've burned along the way__  
__Have left me with these walls and these scars that won't go away__  
__And opening up has always been the hardest thing__  
__Until you came_

"Ok, let's go over the plan one more time before we go in."

Lucas didn't try to hide his protest. "C'mon Nate, we all know what we're supposed to do. Will you just relax?"

Nathan turned to give Lucas a stern finger, like he was sending a 5 year old to time out. "Can I just point out that if you ruin this tonight and I don't get to see Haley again, I will make sure your life is a living hell until the end of time?" Satisfied that Lucas was done complaining Nathan pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He'd found a website for the auction Haley was putting on to benefit her after school program that listed all of the items available for bidding. He'd spent almost the entire week going over and over it to make sure his plan would work. "Alright, Clay, you and Sarah are going to bid on the dinner for two at Marseille."

Clay nodded and wrapped his arm around Sarah. "I still wish we could have the dinner for two for ourselves."

"Me too, but I don't even want to think about how high that's going to go for. Plus, I doubt they even have grape kool-aid there."

Clay laughed and kissed the top of his wife's head. "You're right. Why would we go somewhere that doesn't have grape kool-aid?"

Nathan was getting frustrated. "Guys can we please focus?"

"Sorry Nate," Clay apologized. "Go on."

"Ok, then Lucas you're going to bid on Haley's music lessons."

"Why aren't you bidding on Haley?"

"Because I don't want to risk her seeing my name and running before I get a chance to ask her out." Nathan tucked the piece of paper back into his coat pocket. "Besides, I'm bidding on Brooke's clothing design. Now, is everyone set?" After receiving nods from his friends Nathan turned back around, took a deep breath, and walked through the doors to the middle school. He groaned inwardly as he saw the throng of people wandering about the foyer.

"Wow, pretty good turnout." Lucas walked up and gave Nathan a pat on the back. "You should be proud that Haley was able to throw such a successful benefit auction. I just hope you can get all your items." He cringed as Nathan turned to give him one of the most deadly stares he's ever seen.

Nathan took a moment to compose himself. He had the perfect plan: a dinner for two at one of the most romantic restaurants in town, and a dress designed by Brooke Davis herself. How could Haley say no to that? And in case she did, Lucas would bid on her music lessons that Nathan could use as a last resort. He just hoped he'd be able to get all the items to make this work. He turned back to Clay and Sarah. "Ok, your item is starting soon so you guys go on in."

"Ok, but can I talk to you for a sec Nate?" Clay took Nathan's arm and pulled him off to the side. "Are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not doing this to get her back for ditching you right?"

Nathan was taken aback. "Of course not."

"I just wanted to make sure because if so this could turn into a field day for the press."

Nathan took his agent by the shoulders. "Look, this girl has turned my world upside down. And if this doesn't work out I promise you my only focus from here on out will be on my basketball career. But if I don't do this I know I'll wonder for the rest of my life."

Clay smiled. He'd never seen Nathan so determined for anything, except basketball. "Alright. We should head on in then."

"You guys go on ahead, I'll be there in a bit."

"Where are you going?"

Nathan turned and headed to the next room. "I'll be at the bar."

xxxxx

"Haley will you come out of there? I'm sure you look great." Brooke was standing outside of Haley's classroom. She'd gone in there to change into a dress she'd brought for the auction, but apparently she was having second thoughts.

"Um, I think I'll just put back on what I was wearing earlier."

"Haley James you will do no such thing!" Brooke shook the door knob to try to get in, but it was locked. "Don't make me break down this door."

"We're in the middle of New York City, Brooke. I think that door's going to be a little difficult to break down." Suddenly the door opened and there stood Brooke, bobby pin in hand.

"Maybe so, but they're pretty easy to pick." Brooke came in and shut the door behind her. "You look like a rockstar Hales."

Haley blushed and smoothed the dress out. "Thanks. Are you sure it's not too much?"

"Absolutely not. In fact…." Brooke walked up and took Haley's hair out of the bun it was in, letting the curls fall around her face. "….there. That's better." Haley held up her compact mirror as Brooke messed with her hair. "So are you ready to go out there and rock that crowd?"

Haley laughed; the people out in that crowd weren't exactly the kind of people you _rocked_ with a musical performance. Most were just rich people here to give their money and look good for the press. "I guess so."

"What's going on Hales? You were so excited about this before."

"Well, I don't know. It's just….I was walking around out there earlier and I thought I saw…Nathan."

Brooke tried not to look as shocked as she felt. "What?"

"Well actually, first I saw one of the guys he was at that bar with a few weeks ago, and then I looked around and thought I saw him standing next to him. But then Principal Lane came over and started talking to me. By the time she left I lost them."

"Why would Nathan be here?"

"I don't know. Maybe I was just imagining things."

Just then Peyton came bursting through the door. "Haley! There you are. C'mon, they just finished auctioning Brooke's item and you're up next!" She grabbed Haley's wrist and started dragging her down the hall until they got to the door that led to the stage in the auditorium. Haley turned back to her friends.

"How do I look?"

"You look fantastic. Now get out there and kick some ass Haley James."

The two girls watched their friend go through the door to warm up for her performance.

"Peyton, are you sure Haley's up for this?"

"Absolutely. She needs to do this. And plus, Nathan's out there." She turned to Brooke. "He _is _out there, right?"

"Yep. He called yesterday and told me his plan for a date with Haley. And if you ask me, it's the cutest thing I've ever heard. We just need to make sure we get Haley to talk to him after."

xxxxx

Haley hadn't performed since college, except for what messing around she did at Peyton's studio. More than once Peyton tried to convince Haley to record an album, but Haley had no interest. She had her afterschool program and her teaching, and that was enough for her right now.

But walking on that stage and standing in front of all the people out in the auditorium felt as natural as breathing.

"Hey guys. Um, I'm Haley James. I'm one of the few people who run this amazing program for kids wanting to express themselves with music. But the truth is, none of this would be possible without your support." Haley walked over and picked up her guitar from the stand. "So I just wanted to say thanks."

_Maybe I was wrong__  
__Maybe I was looking in all the wrong places__  
__Maybe I was wrong__  
__Maybe I was searching all the wrong places_

___If I knew you were coming for me I would have stayed in one place__  
__If I knew you were coming for me I would have made my peace_

___Maybe I was wrong__  
__Maybe I was dreamless and full of suffering__  
__Maybe I was wrong__  
__Every time you said you loved me I went running on my own_

___But I can see now, I'm coming home__  
__I can see now, I'm coming home_

___Maybe I was wrong__  
__Maybe I was looking in all the wrong faces__  
__Maybe I was wrong__  
__Maybe I was searching all the wrong places_

___If I knew you were coming for me, I would have stayed in one place__  
__If I knew you were coming for me, I would have made my peace_

___But I can see now, I'm coming home__  
__I can see now, I'm coming home_

Haley smiled as she let the last note ring out on her guitar. She forgot how great it felt performing. It took her a minute before she actually heard the applause coming from the audience. She looked over and saw Peyton and Brooke adding in their cheers, but the look they were sharing told Haley there was something going on that she didn't know about.

xxxxx

Nathan kept clapping until Haley left the stage. She'd told him she studied music in college, but that was an extreme understatement. She had talent you couldn't learn in the classroom. After she was gone the auctioneer came back and started the bidding for three music lessons with Haley. Nathan sat back and anxiously watched Lucas win the bidding war going on between him and another guy on the other side of the room. Now he was three for three. The only thing left for him to do was ask Haley out, but he felt like that was going to be the hardest part of the evening.

xxxxx

Once off stage Haley grabbed both Brooke and Peyton by the arm and pulled them out into the hall. "Ok, what aren't you guys telling me?"

Peyton and Brooke looked at each other, trying to decide how much they should say. "Um…well," Brooke scrambled for words, "there's someone here to see you!"

"Yeah! They wanted to see you after you're done." Peyton chimed in.

Haley gave them a skeptical look. "Who is it?"

"Uh…they wanted it to be a surprise." Peyton and Brooke each took hold of one of Haley's arms and started leading her to where they told Nathan they'd meet him. Haley wasn't completely resisting, but she wasn't going willingly either. "Don't worry Hales, it's not a murderer or anything."

"Well then who is-" she stopped when they came around the corner and she saw Nathan and his brother standing there."I hate you guys so much right now."

Peyton let go of her arm and backed away. "Don't run away this time Hales," Brooke whispered in her ear. She gave Haley a quick squeeze then walked up to escort Nathan's brother away. She wasn't going to let anyone interrupt Haley and Nathan this time. Haley watched them go down the hallway and around the corner before turning back to Nathan. "Hey."

"Hi." Nathan started walking towards her. "You were great up there."

"Um, thanks." Haley started fiddling with her dress, unsure of what to say. She'd ditched him two times now, so why was he still here? She started to ask him, but he started to speak first.

"So I was wondering if you'd like to go on a, uh, date with me?"

"Look Nathan, I-"

"Because I have this certificate for two at Marseille," Nathan pulled the envelopes out of his coat, "and a certificate for a Brooke Davis original, but no one to use them with."

Haley was speechless. "You bid on all those items? But, but how?"

Nathan smiled. "Well, I had some help from my brother, and my agent too. Do you remember them?"

"I do." So she _did_ see them earlier. Brooke and Peyton had to be behind this. Oh, they were in so much trouble.

"Look, just one date. That's all I'm asking. And if you never want to see me after that just tell me, I won't try to find you. I promise."

_That's not likely to happen_ Haley thought. She knew she didn't have the strength, or the desire, to say no to him. "When?"

Nathan looked down at one of the certificates. "Well, Brooke's certificate says she needs at least 5 days advance notice for her design, so next Friday?"

"Wait, you're not using her certificate for yourself?"

Nathan looked at her like she didn't understand what she just said. "Um, I'm sure her designs are great, but I don't think look very good in a dress."

Nathan laughed and Haley joined in. "No, it's just, I can't take that."

"You're not taking it. I'm giving it to you."

Once again Haley found herself running out of excuses. "Friday sounds great."

xxxxx

Brooke smiled as she watched Haley and Nathan from around the corner. Their plan had worked. Haley looked like she'd been trying to resist at the beginning, but Nathan had won. This only confirmed what Brooke and Peyton had seen from the beginning; Haley had already fallen for Nathan, and she'd fallen hard.

"Damn, she's hot. I'm kind of hoping Nathan screws this up so I can take a whack at her."

Brooke turned to Nathan's brother who was standing next to her. "Not a chance in hell."

"That's what you think." Lucas held up an envelope. "I've got three music lessons with her."

She grabbed the envelope from his hands. "You won those for Nathan." She turned back to watch Nathan and Haley leave down the other end of the hallway. "Besides, they're going to make it way past the first date. I know these things." She stood up and started to head back to find Peyton.

"Well what about us?"

"What?"

"You said you know these things. What about you and me?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you serious? No way."

Lucas grabbed the envelope back from Brooke's hand. "Then I guess I'll be enjoying some one-on-one time with Haley."

There was no way Brooke was going to let this guy run the risk of breaking up Nathan and Haley. "Fine. What do you want?"

"I want to take you on a date."

Brooke held out her hand for the envelope, putting it in her purse after he gave it to her. "Fine. I'll call you." She left Lucas standing there with a ridiculous smirk on his face. Haley better appreciate what she was doing for her and Nathan.

_I know that the bridges that I've burned along the way__  
__Have left me with these walls and these scars that won't go away__  
__And opening up has always been the hardest thing__  
__Until you came_

-Lady Antebellum, _Can't Take My Eyes Off You_

**A/N**: So I hope you guys liked this chapter! Not extremely exciting, but it helps set up the rest of the story :) And the song Haley performed earlier is _Maybe _by Bethany Joy Galeotti feat. Enation. Let me know what you think!


	6. Fallin For You

_I've been waiting all my life__  
__and now I found you__  
__I don't know what to do__  
__I think I'm fallin' for you__  
__I'm fallin' for you_

She stood in front of the mirror and asked the same question she'd been asking herself for the last thirty minutes. "Haley James, what the hell are you doing?"

"Haley James, what the _hell_ are you doing?" Haley turned around to see Brooke come busting through the doors. "Nathan is going to be here in fifteen minutes and you're not even dressed!"

"I, um…"

Brooke saw the look of fear and hesitancy on Haley's face. "No. No backing out. You're going to put on this dress, and you're going to look hot, and you're going to go on a date with one of the sexiest men I've ever seen."

Well, who could resist when she put it like that? Besides, it didn't sound like Brooke was giving her much of a say in the matter. "Alright, alright, I'll be right back." Haley took the dress that was hanging on the door of her closet and went into the bathroom to put it on. Brooke had seriously outdone herself on this one. It wasn't too complex; a black one-shoulder dress that came in around the waist and then fell loosely down almost to her knees. But there was an elegance in the simplicity of this dress that Haley had never felt before. She took a breath and opened the door. Brooke jumped up off the bed the second she stepped back into the room.

"You look gorgeous, if I do say so myself." Brooke took Haley's arm and pulled her over in front of the full-length mirror. "Now, what were you going to do with your hair?"

"I thought I would just pull it up-"

"No way." Brooke bent over to pick up a curling iron from the floor. Haley didn't remember that being there before…. "Let's see what we can do."

What felt like hours later Brooke stood back and took in her masterpiece. If Nathan hadn't been hooked before, he certainly was going to be after this date. While Haley messed around with the curls Brooke just created, Brooke went into the closet and picked out a pair of heels for Haley to wear. "What do you think about these?"

Haley's eyes bugged when she saw the size of the heels on those shoes. "I'm thinking I'll break my ankle walking two feet in those and then Nathan will have to carry me back."

Brooke gave her a wink and set the shoes on the floor so Haley could put them on. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Haley slipped on the heels and immediately felt taller. At least Nathan was pretty tall too and she wouldn't be towering over him. Just as she was getting her coat from a hanger in her closet she heard someone knock at the door. Before she could say anything Brooke was out the door in a flash. "I'll get it!" she yelled, as if she was going to have to fight someone to be the first to open the door.

With one last look in the mirror Haley grabbed her clutch from her bed and went out in the hallway. As she approached she could hear Brooke going on about the dress she made and how Nathan wouldn't be disappointed. And the look on Nathan's face when she entered the foyer told her Brooke wasn't lying.

"Wow Haley, you look great." She watched as his eyes ran up and down her body. Normally when a guy did that she'd be mad, but she had no problem at all with Nathan looking at her like that. In fact, she _wanted_ him too.

"Thanks."

Nathan had been standing with his hands clasped behind his back, but when he brought them forward she saw a flower in his hands. "I know this might be kind of old-fashioned, but…"

Haley smiled. "It's beautiful." She reached out and took the flower from Nathan. It was a single red rose with a white ribbon tied around the stem. "I love it. Thank you." She stood there totally lost in the moment with Nathan that she almost forgot Brooke was standing behind her, and apparently she'd brought her camera.

"Alright you two, picture time."

Haley turned to give her a friendly glare. "Brooke, that's not necessary."

"Oh come on Haley, you know I always take pictures of people wearing my designs. It has absolutely nothing to do with you, I promise."

Haley knew that was a load of crap, but didn't push it. No matter how much she argued, there was no way Brooke was backing down. She set the flower on the table and walked over to pose with Nathan. He slipped an arm around her back and she did the same. Their posing made her flashback to all the prom pictures she'd taken with Dean during high school. Shuddering, she pushed those memories back where they came from and smiled.

About ten pictures later Brooke was finally satisfied with their photo. She set down her camera and walked over to the door to see the two out. "I expect you to have her home no earlier than midnight, Nathan."

Nathan looked back up from the sidewalk. "You have my word."

After a few failed attempts they were finally able to get a taxi. Nathan held the door for Haley to get in, and after going around to the other side to get in he gave the driver the address of their restaurant and they were on their way.

The conversation on the way to the restaurant wasn't too deep. Haley had never felt comfortable having serious conversations in cabs with the driver more than likely listening in, and luckily Nathan felt the same way. So they kept it pretty impersonal, just the general "how have things been going?" and such.

Fortunately the restaurant wasn't too far. Upon their arrival Nathan jumped out of his side to help Haley out of hers. As he was paying the driver Haley took the chance to admire the new french restaurant. It had opened a few weeks ago, and she'd been extremely surprised that they were willing to help out with her afterschool program. Haley knew this was a restaurant she'd never be able to afford and she never dreamed that she'd be here on a date with Nathan using the restaurant's auction donation, so the whole experience was kind of surreal for her. She was pulled from her thoughts when Nathan came up behind her.

"Ready?"

Haley nodded and they walked into the restaurant. They gave their coats to a gentleman and followed the hostess to their table. As they walked through the restaurant Haley noticed the lack of people at the tables. In fact, the only table that was set was the one their hostess led them to. She set their menus on the table and waited for them to be seated so she could take their drink orders.

"Do you like wine?" Nathan asked Haley. With her approval Nathan turned to the hostess and ordered some fancy type of wine Haley had never heard of. Once the woman was gone she leaned across the table to whisper to Nathan.

"Does this place look kind of empty to you?"

Nathan took in the room. "I suppose so."

Haley didn't understand why he wasn't as confused as her. "This is the newest, most romantic place in town. There's no way people wouldn't be here."

As Nathan was about to answer their waitress came by with their drinks. Once she left Nathan leaned back across the table. "Well, I kind of asked the restaurant to not let anyone else eat here tonight so that we could have some time alone."

One of Haley's eyebrows rose in question. "You 'asked'?"

Nathan smiled. "Yes. Very, _very_ nicely." Once he said this Nathan started to look like he was beginning to regret this. "I hope it doesn't seem too creepy or anything."

_Just the opposite, actually _Haley thought. "No, it's not. It's kind of nice." She smiled and saw Nathan relax. He smiled back and looked down to read his menu. After a few minutes of silence Nathan looked back up.

"Uh, do you know how to read-"

"-French?" Haley laughed. "I think I know enough for us to order something." She and Nathan were able to decipher the foreign language and find something they liked. As if sensing their readiness the waitress came to their table to take their order. It might've been Haley's imagination but the waitress looked a little too eager to take Nathan's order. She pushed the thought away, not even wanting to appear jealous to herself, and placed her order.

After the waitress had left Haley took a sip of her wine. She set the glass down and sat back in her seat, looking around at the décor of the room. When she got back to Nathan she found him staring at her. Self-consciously she wiped her face, afraid she had something on it. "What?"

Her question seemed to pull him from some kind of deep thought. "Oh nothing, it's just, you look really beautiful tonight."

Haley felt her cheeks get extremely hot. She smiled and looked down, not sure how much redder her cheeks could get if she looked at him. "Thanks."

The rest of their dinner went smoothly. A few more times Haley had to convince herself that their waitress was just extremely helpful and not trying to make a pass at Nathan at all. Of course Haley knew this was completely wrong.

After Nathan paid the check they left the restaurant. She couldn't help but notice as all the cooks, waitresses and other staff came up to the front window to watch them leave. But Nathan didn't seem to see and they started walking until they found themselves in Central Park. The night was pretty cold so she wrapped her coat tighter and walked closer to Nathan, pleased that he didn't seem to mind. Haley stopped for a minute to adjust the heels on her feet. She was so going to kill Brooke when she got back.

"Are you ok?"

Haley looked up to see Nathan looking at her, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Yeah, it's just these stupid shoes Brooke picked out. They're killing my feet."

"Oh, well we can't have that." Nathan looked around the park. "I'll be right back."

Haley watched as he went down the sidewalk to talk to one of the carriage drivers. After some talking the two men shook hands and Nathan made his way back. "Do you think you can make it down to that carriage?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well you said it hurts to walk, and since I can't take you home yet without Brooke killing me, we can just ride around in here for a bit." When they reached the carriage Nathan held out a hand to help Haley up.

"Really? Nathan these things are so cheesy." She took his hand and made her way up the little ladder.

Nathan took the hand holding hers and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. "Maybe so, but they can also be quite romantic."

Haley turned quickly so he wouldn't see her blush. She felt extremely touched at his worry for her care. She sat down and scooted so Nathan could sit beside her. She watched as he climbed up and took the seat next to her.

The driver turned around as he got the horses going. "So what are we celebrating tonight?"

Nathan smiled at Haley. "Uh, first date."

The old man laughed silently to himself. "First date huh? Well then I've got the perfect place for ya. You folks just sit back. There's a blanket under the seat if ya get cold."

Nathan got the blanket out and spread it across their laps, then wrapped his arm around Haley to keep her warm. She let herself lean into him. "Thanks."

He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Of course."

"So, how's your team doing?"

Nathan looked at her questioningly. "I thought you didn't follow sports."

_I don't follow sports, I follow you._ "Oh, I just saw something in the paper about your team. You won a game right?"

He laughed. "Yeah, we've won our last few actually. But our season just started. We've still got a few months."

"Wow, you must really like basketball to play it so much."

"Oh I love playing basketball. But the truth is, I don't really know life without basketball. My dad signed me up for my first little league team when I was four and I've been playing ever since."

"Your dad sounds like he was really supportive of your career." Nathan laughed at that and she looked up at him. "What?"

"Well, my dad wasn't exactly the 'supportive' type. He played in high school too, so it was always him telling me I'd never be as good as him if I took a day off from practice or didn't lift every morning before school. But I can't be mad. If he hadn't introduced me to basketball I never would've had a way to get away from life and school and just be myself."

Haley leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder, pleased when he rested his head on hers in return. "It's always good to have something to do that you love, no matter how you get it I guess."

"Yeah. What about you? Did your parents support your music?"

"Well they dragged me to piano lessons until I graduated high school so I suppose so. But like you said, I'm glad they did. I guess they saw my love for music before I did."

"So where did the guitar playing come from?"

"When I was a senior in high school my grandfather passed away. And when we were cleaning out some of his things I found one of my uncle's old guitars in the attic. I took it home and started messing around with it. I guess that's when I really discovered how much I loved music and when I got to college I knew I wanted to take it more seriously, so I decided to study it."

"And you said you almost made it big?"

"Yeah. Instead of spending my freshman year finding all the cool parties I spent a lot of time in the practice rooms in the music hall. There was another guy, Chris, who liked to hang out there too. So we started working on some stuff together and it actually turned out pretty good. Our junior year we had a band come to campus for a concert and we got the opportunity to open for them. After the concert they told us if we recorded a few songs and sent them to their label they'd get some people to listen and we would have a good chance at getting an offer." 

"Wow, that must've been pretty exciting."

"It was for Chris. He wanted to go for it, but I told him I wanted to graduate first before doing anything. I guess he felt like he could make it without me because after a few weeks when I still wouldn't change my mind he left for the city and I haven't seen him since."

"Well that makes it sound like you guys were more than just friends."

"Uh, I guess somewhere in there we kind of started going out. Actually, I'm really not even sure I know exactly when it happened. It was just one of those things. We'd made a few plans for after college, nothing too big, just where'd we go and how we could try to get some sort of music career going. But given the fact that he was packed and gone that quick, I guess he wasn't really planning on too much." How had they suddenly found themselves wrapped up in her past? She hadn't told hardly anyone these things before, and she was telling Nathan on their first technical date?

Nathan gave her a gentle squeeze with the arm he had wrapped around her. "So do you regret it? Not going I mean."

"Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I'd gone with him and tried to make an album and what that could've led to, but I really do love teaching music to kids and showing them the incredible things it can to do their lives if they let it. To me that's the most rewarding thing I could ever do with music. So I guess not." Haley let out a small laugh. "Though I do admit sometimes Brooke makes me wish I had my own apartment."

Nathan laughed with her and was about to inquire further when their driver stopped the carriage. They both looked out to see where they were. Through the darkness Haley thought she saw a small pond with some benches around it and behind it where some buildings signaling where the park boundary was.

Nathan hopped out and quickly offered up a hand to help Haley down. She was almost positive she could've made it down herself, but she found herself looking for opportunities so she could hold hands with Nathan. When she was safely down she saw Nathan turn back up to the driver to inquire their price but the old man just shook his head and smiled.

"This one's on me. You kids have fun." He gave them a wink and before they knew it he was gone.

Nathan turned and, to Haley's extreme pleasure, offered her his arm. "Care for a walk in the park Ms. James?"

God she loved how poetic he made her name sound. Haley smiled and took his arm. "It would be my pleasure Mr. Scott." He smiled back as she played along with his little game and they started to make their way down the sidewalk. After a few minutes they found themselves crossing a bridge looking out over the pond. Haley marveled at how the buildings lit up and their lights played across the pond.

"Where do the ducks go in the winter?"

Haley turned to Nathan. "What?"

His head popped up like she'd pulled him from a thought. "Where do the ducks go in the winter? It's from-"

"-_The Catcher In The Rye_. You've actually read it?"

Nathan laughed. "I'm pretty sure every high school student in America has to read that book at some point while they're in school."

"I suppose that's true. I've just never heard anyone quote it before."

"Well I don't know where you went to school, but some of us athletes do actually like to read something besides the paper every now and then. And having a brother who's a writer and quotes books all the time can help too."

Haley started to feel a little foolish. "I didn't mean to sound mean or anything. Sorry."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it."

She smiled back and was about to say something when something white fell on his coat. She and Nathan looked up and sure enough, it was starting to snow. She quickly closed her eyes and made her wish.

"What are you doing?"

Haley opened her eyes and saw Nathan looked at her with a questioning look on his face. "I'm making a wish."

"Why?"

"When my sisters and I were little, whenever there was the first snowfall of the year my mom would have us all run outside to watch. Then she'd have us make a wish. I know, it's silly and doesn't really doesn't make any sense, but I've done it for as long as I can remember. I guess it's just a habit."

"It's not silly. That's nice you had a mom like that." Nathan looked up at the snow falling around them. "My mom never really did anything like that."

"You should do it too."

He looked back down. "Make a wish?" Haley nodded. "Alright."

She laughed as he squeezed his eyes shut real tight, causing his nose to scrunch up too. He was probably making fun of her, but she didn't really care. After a bit he opened his eyes. "Done."

Haley smiled. Dean and Chris had always made fun of her childish ritual for the first snowfall of the year. The fact that Nathan was willing to go along with it meant a lot. Probably more than he realized. Just then a sharp breeze blew through and she shivered, Nathan noticing.

"I guess we should get back before we freeze to death." He wrapped an arm around her and they started walking towards the street. This time they were more successful at getting a cab. Their conversation this time was more relaxed than it had been at the beginning of the evening. At one point Nathan reached over to take one of her hands and she felt her stomach flip upside down.

To her dismay the drive back to her apartment didn't take as long as she was hoping it would. She started to get out the door as Nathan got out of his side and they walked up the steps to her door. "Thanks again for everything. I had a really great time tonight."

Nathan smiled. "Well thanks for going with me. I was right, you look way better in that dress than Luke would've." They both laughed. "So, um, call I call you sometime?"

_You'd better._ She held her hand out for his phone, which he gave her. She put in her number and handed it back. "I think Brooke might kill you if you don't."

"Well she won't have to worry about that." He laughed as he put his phone back in his pocket, then glanced back at the cab waiting for him at the curb. "I guess I should get going."

Haley nodded. He looked at her, asking with his eyes what he was afraid to ask outloud. She knew he got her answer when he stepped closer and gently pressed his lips to hers. This feeling of familiarity washed over her and she was starting to remember why it had been so easy to invite him in last time. But this was different. Haley lost track of everything until he pulled back.

She smiled. "For the first time that I can remember, my wish came true."

"What do you mean?"

Haley felt a little blush creep into her cheeks but she didn't look away this time. "I kinda wished for you to kiss me."

Nathan smiled. "Well I was certainly happy to oblige." He opened her door for her to walk in. "I guess I'll, uh, talk to you later?"

"I hope so."

She was certain the smile on Nathan's face matched hers as he started back down the steps. Haley shut the door and locked it. She stood there for a minute, reliving all the memories of the night. Her reminiscing was cut short when her cell phone started ringing. She pulled it out but didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Nathan?" Haley turned back to the door and looked out the peep hole. She saw Nathan standing at the bottom of the steps looking up at the door. "Did you forget something?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure I got the right number this time."

Haley laughed. "I guess I deserve that." Through the hole she could see Nathan's smile grow, probably glad she wasn't mad that he was already calling her.

"And I, uh, just wanted to tell you again how much I enjoyed tonight."

"I had a really good time too Nathan."

"Great. I guess I'll, um, talk to you tomorrow?"

Haley's heart jumped at the thought of Nathan calling her again. She was talking to him right now and already couldn't wait to hear his voice again. "That sounds great. Good night Nathan."

"Night Haley."

Haley watched as he hung up his phone and, with one last look at her door, he hopped back in the cab and drove off.

_Yep, this one's definitely a keeper._

_I've been waiting all my life__  
__and now I found you__  
__I don't know what to do__  
__I think I'm fallin' for you__  
__I'm fallin' for you_

-Colbie Caillat, _Fallin For You_

**A/N: **I know, I totally fail at life for being so late with this. But studying for tests + end-of-semester projects + the flu + preparing for finals = absolutely no free time at all. I hope the length and totally cheesy Naley-ness of this chapter makes up for it! As always, I would absolutely love to hear what you think :) Thanks for reading!


	7. Standing Still

_Do you want me, like I want you?__  
__Or am I standing still, beneath the darkened sky?__  
__Or am I standing still, with the scenery flying by?__  
__Or am I standing still, out of the corner of my eye?__  
__Was that you passin' me by?_

"Seriously Nathan, you don't have to help if you don't want to." Haley still didn't understand why Nathan would want to spend an afternoon helping her with her afterschool program. Not to mention the fact that this was their last rehearsal before the kids' concert that night, which Nathan also insisted on attending. Did he seriously have nothing else to do?

"But I want to." Nathan sat on the edge of Haley's desk as he watched her gather papers here and there and put them away. "Coach gave us today off and I want to spend some time with you. So if you're here, then I'm here too."

Haley smiled as she gathered her coat from the back of her chair and grabbed her bag from the floor. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Nathan hopped off the desk and walked with her to the door. "You make it sound like I'm going to my death or something."

"Some people might see it that way," Haley laughed as she reached for the handle to open the door to the hallway.

"What time is it?"

Haley glanced at her watch. "It's 3:26."

"And your program starts at 3:30?" She nodded. Nathan pushed the door closed again and slowly backed Haley up against it, wanting to capitalize on their being alone. "So that means we have a few minutes to spare."

Haley caught on to where he was going with this. "I suppose that's true," she managed to get out before Nathan had his lips pressed against hers. She felt herself fall back against the door as Nathan brought a hand up to hold her face to his. Her arms itched to wrap around his neck, her hands begged to run through his hair and hold him close to her, but her coat and bag in hand kept her from being able to do so. And she knew if she did, they definitely wouldn't be on time.

After a few breathless minutes she reluctantly pulled back. She leaned her head back and smiled, looking up at Nathan. "I think having you around today might be a bit of a distraction."

Nathan returned the smile. "I'll do my best to make myself irresistible."

Haley laughed as they went out into the hallway and she locked up her classroom. "Gee, don't give yourself too much credit Mr. Scott."

"I would never do such a thing," Nathan replied in mock appall. He put his hands in his pockets as they walked down the hallway to the auditorium. He was looking forward to seeing Haley's afterschool program. Whether she knew it or not, she absolutely lit up whenever she talked about the kids in it. This was a part of who she was, and Nathan had every intention of learning all about what made Haley tick.

At 3:30 on the dot Haley and Nathan made their way into the auditorium. As they walked down an aisle Nathan looked at all the kids up on the stage, just messing around and waiting for Haley. They got about halfway down when she turned to him.

"I have to go up and talk details about tonight and then they're going to run through their pieces, so you can hang out back here if you'd like. But after they're done we could really use some of those professional athlete muscles of yours to help move around some of the risers and tables backstage."

Nathan pretended to think about it. "I don't know, that might go against my whole 'irresistible' thing."

"I think I'll risk it." Haley gave him a wink then went to go do her thing with the kids, leaving Nathan completely awestruck. He moved into the center section and sat in a seat. He knew absolutely nothing about music, or kids for that matter, so he found himself focusing on each of Haley's movements. He couldn't help but smile when she laughed at something one of the kids said and her laughter rang throughout the auditorium. He watched as she would absentmindedly run a hand through her hair, allowing him a better view of her face. And every now and then she'd sing something to show the kids how it was supposed to go and he felt himself melt away. How could one woman have such an effect on him?

After a bit Nathan watched Haley make her way back to his row, taking the seat next to him. "Hey. How's it going back here?"

"It's going great. The kids are looking really good."

Haley smiled and looked back up at the stage, watching as the kids set up and began to run through their rehearsal. "They've been working so hard; I think I'm more nervous than they are for tonight though."

Nathan reached over and took her hand, then leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You're a great teacher. I'm sure they'll do great."

She looked back at Nathan and blushed. "Thanks." He loved how he could make her do that. They watched as the kids ran through their performance. Towards the end of what Haley said was their last song Nathan heard some sort of clicking noise behind him. He turned and saw a photographer standing in the back of the auditorium. He was about to pass it off as just a school photographer or something but he noticed that the guy's camera wasn't pointed at the stage; it was pointed at him and Haley.

_Shit._ Nathan turned to Haley. "I'll be right back."

xxxxx

Haley watched as Nathan took off down the row and up the aisle, chasing after the guy with the camera. The only reason she came up with for why Nathan would be upset with this guy was if he was some sort of paparazzi or something. But why would Nathan have a problem with him taking a picture of them? She looked up on the stage and saw that the kids were still running through their song so she got up and went after Nathan.

When she got up to the hallway she saw that Nathan had the man pushed up against a wall. She froze when the guy looked at her, followed by Nathan doing the same. He looked at her for a minute before turning back to the photographer, dropping his voice as he spoke. Haley stood there for a brief moment before going back into the auditorium.

She went back up on the stage and had the kids start setting up the risers on the stage, and setting up some of the tables back stage. She tried to focus on setting everything up and getting it all ready for the concert but her mind kept racing with reasons that photographer upset Nathan so much. She was directing a few of the boys carrying a table when Nathan came up on the stage.

"Hey. Sorry about that. I, um, had to make a call. You guys need some help?"

Haley turned to go backstage and see how the kids were going back there. "Nope, I think we're good here. You can go if you want." She _really_ couldn't deal with this right now.

She wasn't surprised when Nathan followed her. "Wait, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Yep." She waved the last few kids back out onto the stage, leaving her and Nathan alone.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Alright, well, I guess I'll see you tonight then?"

"I don't think that's a good idea Nathan."

"Why not?" He took a few steps closer to her. "Look, if this is about what happened in the hallway, it was nothing. I promise. Just some stupid newspaper photographer. Nothing."

"Nothing? So is there a reason you don't want to be seen in public with me?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Everywhere we've been together we've been alone; the restaurant, the park, here. I know that I'm not the kind of girl you're usually seen with in public. I mean, that girl you talked to in the bookstore? If that's the kind of girl you need to be with then I don't think this is going to work out."

"Haley, that's not even-"

She cut him off. "I think you should go."

"Haley-"

"Just go. Please." She watched as he wrestled with staying or leaving. Thankfully he turned and headed back out to the auditorium. Against her better judgment, she didn't think she'd be able to defend herself if he kept talking. Once he was gone she let the tears fall down her face. She really thought he was different, not into the whole 'appearance' thing of being a professional athlete. But how were they supposed to have a relationship if he didn't want them to be seen in public together?

Haley regained her composure and headed back out to the stage. These kids were depending on her to put on their concert. She didn't have time to get emotional right now, and the kids definitely didn't deserve her not giving her best because she had a fight with a guy she just started dating. No, she wasn't going to let this get in the way of their night. She was going to put a smile on and go back out there and give them her best.

xxxxx

Nathan threw his phone on the couch back at his apartment before plopping down next to it. He hadn't handled this afternoon very well, but that photographer was out of line. When he called Clay right after he knew there was probably a better way to have handled that situation, but he was only trying to protect Haley. He didn't want her to wake up in the morning and find her picture in the newspaper. It wasn't fair to her to have that happen, especially since Nathan hadn't been able to explain how dating a professional athlete went. Probably because once she saw how different it was she was going to decide that he wasn't worth it and she'd let him go. He didn't want that to happen without her getting to know him first. If only she'd let him explain earlier. Then maybe this wouldn't be such a mess.

He jumped off the couch. Nathan wasn't ready for this relationship to be over yet. He was going to make her hear him out and if she still didn't want to date him, then fine. But it certainly wouldn't be for his lack of trying.

xxxxx

Haley locked her front door behind her and let out a sigh, dropping everything she was carrying to the floor. The concert had gone off without a hitch, the kids performed amazingly, and she couldn't be more proud. So why did she still feel so down? Oh yeah, Nathan. She'd told herself that she wasn't going to get too emotionally involved in this relationship until she knew how it was going to go, but obviously her heart didn't listen. She choked back a sob. Nope, her heart definitely didn't hold back on this one.

She stepped over everything and went into the living room, but stopped short when she saw who was there. "Nathan?" He was sitting on their couch, with Peyton and Brooke sitting in the chairs across the room. She looked to them as they stood up.

"We'll be, um, not here." Brooke grabbed Peyton's hand and the two went off down the hall towards the bedrooms. Haley turned back to Nathan.

"What are you doing here?"

He stood up and walked over to her. "You deserve an explanation for this afternoon, and I want to make sure you know all the facts before you give up on me." He gestured for the couch and the two went over to sit. It took him a minute before he started.

"So, part of being a professional athlete is that the press like to know every single detail of your life. It doesn't matter if it's what you eat for dinner or your favorite color; they want to know everything. And the detail that gets the most attention is what kind of relationship you're in. Before you've even finished your first date they'll have your picture splashed across the front page telling the world how long they think your relationship will last. The previous girls I've dated loved the attention and didn't care what was said about them, just that they were more popular when they were with me. But I didn't want you to feel pressured into anything. The reason I planned our date alone is because I didn't want people staring and making you feel uncomfortable."

"Nathan, you should've told me and let me decide for myself."

He looked down at his hands. "I know, but I didn't want to scare you out of dating me. Maybe that was selfish of me, but I didn't want anything to ruin our chance. And I didn't want to pressure you into being my girlfriend."

Haley felt her heart start to pound when he said that last word. "Your what?"

Nathan looked up at her. "My girlfriend." He reached over and took her hands in his. "Haley James, will you be my girlfriend?"

Now the heart-pounding sound had moved into her ears. Any prior reasoning as to why she shouldn't date him flew out the window and she smiled. "Yes."

He smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. As his lips met hers she felt her heart start to mend itself back together. Maybe she'd been too quick to judge him. It wasn't her fault; blame Chris and Dean for her inability to let guys in without making them jump through numerous hoops to win her over. But Nathan had played all her games without question. It was time to let him in. It was time to take a chance. It was time to see how love felt again.

_Do you want me, like I want you?__  
__Or am I standing still, beneath the darkened sky?__  
__Or am I standing still, with the scenery flying by?__  
__Or am I standing still, out of the corner of my eye?__  
__Was that you passin' me by?_

-Jewel, _Standing Still_

**A/N: **I hope this chapter was satisfactory to y'all! I'm on break now (finals are over! Can I get a boo yah? lol) so I should be able to get updates out sooner, but no promises…you all know how the holidays are :) I hope you all are enjoying time with friends and family this holiday season! As always, drop me a review or PM to let me know your thoughts on this story :)


	8. Time of My Life

_I've had the time of my life__  
__No I never felt this way before__  
__Yes I swear it's the truth__  
__And I owe it all to you__  
__'Cause I've had the time of my life__  
__And I've searched through every open door__  
__'Til I found the truth__  
__And I owe it all to you_

"C'mon Brooke, if you're not ready in five minutes I'm leaving without you," Haley yelled down the hallway. They were going to Nathan's basketball game that night and were supposed to meet up with his agent, Clay, and his wife outside the arena to get in. Haley was sporting her Knicks t-shirt that she acquired earlier that day at a store downtown. What kind of girlfriend would she be if she wasn't wearing the proper supportive attire to her boyfriend's game?

Boyfriend. The word still felt a little foreign to her, but she was enjoying getting used to it. Some days it seemed surreal and she felt like Nathan was too good to be true. But so far so good. Great, actually. So when he asked her to come see one of his games, how could she refuse? He'd seen her doing what she loved. Now it was her turn.

Brooke, on the other hand, was treating the event like it was some sort of high school dance. She'd been in her room for the last half hour getting ready.

Haley went into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table, tapping her fingers on the table top. Peyton came in from the living room and put some dishes in the sink. "Nervous Hales?" she joked.

Self-consciously Haley clasped her hands in her lap. "Of course not. Why would I be nervous?"

Peyton sat up on the counter. "Because this is your first time out as Nathan's girlfriend."

"Oh yeah. That."

She smiled. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"Are you sure you don't want to come along?"

"Nah. Jake's coming into the city for a few days so I'm going to spend some time with him."

Just then Brooke came skipping down the hall. "I'm ready."

Haley looked at her and laughed. All that time getting ready and she was just in jeans and a deep blue shirt. "Wow Brooke, way to support the team."

Brooke's face made it sound like she'd asked her to eat dirt. "Oh God, there's no way you're going to get me to wear that awful orange color. I'll settle for blue, thank you."

Peyton and Haley shared a look, both trying not to burst out laughing at Brooke's ridiculousness. They knew if they made too much of a deal out of her outfit she'd insist on changing, and they didn't have time for that.

"Great." Haley jumped up from the chair and put on her coat as they walked to the door. "We should get going. Tell Jake we say hi."

"Will do. You guys have fun, and wish Nathan luck for me."

Haley closed the door behind her and heard Peyton lock it as she and Brooke walked down to the sidewalk. They found a subway station nearby and hopped on a train to take them to Madison Square Garden, along with several other Knicks fans. She was entertained on the trip by Brooke's constant complaining about the dirty nature of the subway and those who rode it. Brooke was also very observant at the other riders' supposed 'inability to dress themselves in a fashionable manner'.

Soon enough they were getting off and heading for the arena. They didn't have much trouble finding Clay and his wife, Sarah, and were able to get in without much hassle. As they walked down the steps to their seats Haley looked up and saw there was still 20 minutes or so before the game actually started. Down on the court she saw the teams warming up. Her eyes scanned the Knicks' end of the court until she saw Nathan shooting around and talking to his teammates.

Their seats ended up being a few rows up from the floor. Once they got seated, Clay to her left and Brooke to her right, she turned to Clay. "So do you guys get to sit down here for every game?"

"If we want to. Usually I come by myself, so I'll hang out up in the press boxes with some of the other agents. But if Sarah or Nathan's brother want to come we sit down here. He'll actually be here in a few minutes, Nathan's brother."

"Lucas?" Brooke popped around Haley to question Clay.

"Yeah. Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately," Brooke mumbled to herself as she sat back in her seat.

Haley had no idea what that was all about, and quite frankly she didn't care. She was content to sit and watch Nathan run around the court, passing and shooting. He looked so natural playing. But if he'd been playing since he was young, then it was probably pretty natural to him by now. When they put up their basketballs and headed into the locker room Nathan looked up, trying to find their seats. His eyes met hers and he smiled, giving a small wave. Haley returned the gesture when she suddenly felt about a thousand eyes on her.

Brooke leaned over to whisper. "Normally I'd say everyone's staring at me, but I think this time it's you Hales."

"Well it would seem we're in the presence of royalty this evening." Haley assumed the guy talking was Lucas, from what she remembered from that night at the bar and then later at the bookstore. He made his way down their row to take a seat next to Sarah. He extended a hand across her and Clay. "Hi. I'm Lucas. It's a pleasure to officially meet the girl who Nathan's been obsessed with for the last month."

Sarah laughed. "You know Luke, I don't think you're supposed to tell her that."

"Why not? It's true."

Haley laughed along and took his hand. "It's nice to meet you." She leaned back slightly to introduce her roommate. "This is my roommate Brooke." Brooke mumbled a 'hi' without moving or even looking at him.

"Oh I know. We met awhile ago." He smiled for a second, before sitting back in his seat. Haley was seriously going to have to ask Brooke for details later on. She sat back and looked around the arena, amazed at how full it was. She almost jumped when Clay's cell phone ringing pulled her from her thoughts. She saw a look of confusion cross his face when he saw who was calling him.

"Nathan? Is something wrong?" He listened for a minute before looking at Haley. "Are you sure?...Ok…..Yeah, I'll have her down there in a minute…..See ya." He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. After leaning over to say something to Sarah he stood up and gestured for Haley to do the same. "Nathan needs to talk to you."

"Now?"

"Yeah. It's kind of important so we should probably hurry."

Haley had no idea what was going on, or what Nathan needed to tell her that couldn't wait for after the game. She let Clay lead her through hallways and doors, the crowd getting smaller and smaller as they went. Pretty soon it was just her and Clay, with a security guard here and there, walking down a tunnel. She smiled when she saw Nathan standing outside a door, probably leading to the locker room. "Hey."

"Hi." He leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "So, we have a problem."

"We do?"

"Yeah, the girl who was supposed to sing the National Anthem before the game tonight had to leave for a family emergency."

"And you're telling me this because?"

Nathan looked at Clay before back at her. "Because I told them you'd be able to take her place."

Haley felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. "You what?"

"I told you this wasn't a good idea Nate."

Nathan ignored Clay and pulled Haley off to the side. "You can do it. I know you can."

"No, I can't. You have to warm up and prepare and, and, for God's sake Nathan I'm not dressed to sing in front of thousands of people!"

"What? You look great. They'll love you. And Clay can take you to an empty room to warm up for a few minutes if you want. All you have to do is go out there and sing. That's it. And I'm pretty sure you get a kiss from a Knicks player after."

"Do I get to pick which one?" Haley joked. She couldn't believe she was actually considering this. If this had been any other circumstance, she would've run away as fast as possible. But Nathan's faith in her was making her brain think funny things and she found herself agreeing. "Fine. But you owe me big time mister."

Nathan smiled and leaned in to give her another kiss. "So Clay will take you somewhere to practice, and then someone will come and get you and show you where to go. Alright?"

Haley smiled. "Yeah." She watched him go back into the locker room. Clay came over and took her to a room down the hall. He told her she'd have five minutes to warm up, but it felt like only 5 seconds had passed before someone was knocking on the door to escort her out to the arena. She walked out into the hall and saw Clay standing off to the side.

"I'll be here when you're done." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She walked out with some security lady until they got to the end of the tunnel. A tech guy handed her a mic and gave her a helpful shove out onto the court. "You're on miss."

Haley walked out to the center of the court like the lady had told her. She saw the teams lined up by the benches, all facing towards the flag, ready for her to sing the National Anthem. She caught Nathan's gaze and he gave her a wink. That relaxed her for about a minute until she looked around at the arena. It looked big from her seat, but from down here on the court it looked a hundred times bigger. She gripped the microphone like she was holding on for dear life and began to sing.

By the end of the song Haley was feeling much more confident, and she even waved as the fans all clapped and cheered when she finished. As promised, Nathan came trotting over to her after, a huge grin on his face. He took her free hand in his, intertwining their fingers. "You were amazing, Haley James."

"Only for you, Nathan Scott." She reached up on her tiptoes and gave Nathan a quick kiss. Maybe it was just the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, but she was sure the roar of the crowd got louder after that. She gave his hand a squeeze. "Good luck."

Nathan ran off to finish warming up with his team and Haley headed back over to where Clay was standing. She gave her microphone back to the tech guy and she and Clay headed back the way they came.

"You were great Haley. I mean really."

Haley felt blush creep into her cheeks. Luckily he couldn't see. "Thanks. I did get all the words right, didn't I?"

Clay laughed. "As far as I know, you did."

They made it back to their seats as the announcer was reading off the starters for the other team. Brooke stood up and gave her a hug.

"You were awesome Hales! Why didn't you tell me you were singing tonight?"

Haley hugged her back and sat down. "Because I didn't know I was until like five minutes ago."

Clay sat back down in his seat. "Blame Nathan; that was all his idea."

Sarah leaned around Clay. "You really did a great job Haley. They'll probably be asking you to come back and sing again."

Haley laughed. That definitely wasn't going to happen. After the opponents' starters had been announced all the fans stood up and cheered for their Knicks. Haley gave an extra cheer when they called Nathan's name. She watched as he took off his warm-ups and ran out onto the court. 23 just became her new favorite number.

xxxxx

Haley felt like she was floating on air after the game was over. Not only was she dating the hottest member of the Knicks' team, but she was also dating the player who'd scored the most points that night. Now she really didn't know that much about basketball, but Clay had told her that scoring 34 points in one game was pretty outstanding.

While they were waiting for Nathan the group hung out outside the arena by the players' exit. Lucas and Clay were off talking about the game and stats, so Haley took this opportunity to get to know Sarah a little better. They hadn't really had much of a chance to talk during the game.

"Seriously Sarah, I don't know how you're able to put up with all this basketball talk all the time."

Sarah let out a laugh. "It's hard, believe me. We'll have to start having a girls night or something whenever Clay has all the guys over. It can be pretty overwhelming."

"Definitely. You'll have to come over and hang out with us." Haley heard the door open and she looked up to see Nathan coming out with some of his teammates. After telling them goodbye he headed over their way.

"Hey guys." He wrapped an arm around Haley and gave her a quick kiss before turning to everyone else.

Clay walked over and gave Nathan a congratulatory slap on the back. "Great job man. Outstanding. You know, you really make my job as your agent pretty easy."

Nathan laughed. "I do my best."

"So how about getting a bite to eat?"

Haley was about to agree when Nathan cut her off. "Actually, I was thinking Haley and I could go back to my place and hang out for a bit." He looked down at her. "If that's alright?"

Did he really think she was going say no? "Of course."

Clay rolled his eyes mockingly then turned to Lucas and Brooke. "What about you guys?"

Brooke answered first. "I actually should be getting back. Lots to do tomorrow." Haley could tell she was totally lying. But it wasn't like she could force her or anything.

"Luke?"

Lucas looked at Brooke. "Well I should probably escort this lovely lady home. It's a little late for her to be wandering around the city alone. Besides, we have something we need to discuss."

Brooke was making that face again. The one where it looked like she had a spoonful of dirt coming at her and she was going to have to eat it. Yep, details were definitely going to be dished the next time Haley had a chance to talk to her.

Clay turned to Sarah. "Well, I guess it's just you and me dear." He took her hand and the two headed out towards the parking lot. "We'll see you guys later then. Great job again, Nathan."

Nathan and Haley waved, and then turned to Brooke and Lucas. "It was really nice to meet you Lucas. Brooke, I'll see you later."

"Have fun Hales." Brooke gave her a quick hug then headed out in the same direction as Clay and Sarah, with Lucas tagging along.

"Later Luke."

Lucas turned and gave a halfhearted wave at Nathan before catching up with Brooke. Haley turned up to look at Nathan.

"Do you have any idea what's going on there?"

"Not a clue." He looked down at her and smiled. "You ready?"

"Yep."

"Great. I actually only live a few blocks from here, if you're ok with walking?"

"Absolutely."

Nathan reached down to take her hand and they headed towards the street. After a few blocks they stopped and got some Chinese take-out, then walked the last block to Nathan's apartment. They picked up their pace as rain drops started to fall more steadily. Nathan greeted the doorman as they walked through the lobby.

"Jimmy this is Haley. Haley, I'd like you to meet Jimmy."

Jimmy held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Haley."

Haley smiled and took his hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

Jimmy smiled and winked at Nathan as he let go. "I like this one, Mr. Scott."

Nathan looked at Haley. "Me too Jimmy, me too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a nice evening," Jimmy called after them.

Up in Nathan's apartment he set their food down on the counter in his kitchen then offered a hand to take Haley's coat. He put his and hers in the closet by the door while Haley took a moment to take in his living arrangement. It was definitely professional athlete material, but not necessarily in a bad way. It had that manly feel to it, but some of the decorations suggested someone had come in and put a theme together. She heard Nathan grab their sack of food and come up behind her.

"Wanna pop in a movie?"

Haley followed him over to the couch. "Sure. Whatcha got?"

Nathan set the food down again and picked up a movie that had been sitting on the table next to the couch. "How about this one?"

Haley jumped when she saw what he had in his hands. "Are you kidding me? I _love_ Dirty Dancing! How did you know it's like my favorite movie of all time?"

Nathan laughed as he got up to put it. "I might be mistaken, but I believe there's something in the official boyfriends' handbook that says that all girls love this movie."

"Well you're certainly right about that." She started getting their food out as Nathan came back to sit next to her. The movie started and they dug in. Once they'd finished eating Haley wiggled her way up next to Nathan. They both had their feet propped up on the table in front of them and Haley leaned in to rest her head on his chest. Once it got to the last dance Haley couldn't help but sing along with the song that was playing. This was her favorite part of the movie. The way Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey danced was so moving, so touching.

When the movie was over she looked up at Nathan. "So what did you think?"

Nathan thought for a second. "It wasn't bad. I don't really get why girls love it so much." He looked down at her. "But if it gets me brownie points then I'll say it's my favorite movie too."

Haley sat up. "Oh no. Getting the movie for your girlfriend is one thing. Staying awake for the whole movie is what gets you the points."

Nathan pretended like he was hurt. "Of course I stayed awake through the whole thing! I can't believe you think I didn't."

Haley held up her hands in defense. "I'm just saying, I'm pretty sure I heard some snores about halfway through."

"Well I saw the whole thing. Any snores you heard were coming from you."

"Nathan Scott! Are you implying that I snore?" Haley grabbed one of the couch pillows and tossed it at Nathan, who easily deflected it.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that." Before Haley could move Nathan had her pinned beneath him on the couch and he was tickling her all along her sides.

"Nathan…stop….tickles…can't….breath," Haley tried to get out in between pants and laughs.

"Only if you admit that I stayed awake the whole time."

Haley kept trying to push his hands away but she was tremendously unsuccessful so she surrendered. "Alright, alright! You stayed awake the whole time." She finally caught her breath when he stopped. She gave him a gentle slap on the arm when he laughed at her. "I can't believe you think it's funny to attack the weak."

Nathan leaned down to kiss her. "You, Haley James, are not weak." Any comebacks that Haley started to come up with slowly fogged over as Nathan began kissing down along her jaw line. He paid particular attention to a spot on her neck that had her so incoherent, she didn't think she could even spell her own name.

What she could do, however, was run her hands through Nathan's hair and hold him to her. She gently tugged him back up to kiss her again, this time more deeply. She felt him begin to run his tongue along her lower lip. She granted him entrance and they both began exploring, somewhat familiar yet still somewhat unknown. It wasn't until he began running his hand up beneath her shirt that her senses started to kick in again.

"Nathan, hang on."

The second time she said his name Nathan pulled back. "What? What's wrong?"

Haley took a minute to regain her composure. "Nothing, it's just…" She really didn't know how to say this without sounding totally crazy and weird. "Well, I know that we were together before, and I, not to be mean, but I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you again. But when I date guys like this I want to, um, wait before we're together, like that." She turned away and braced herself for Nathan to laugh at her ridiculous hypocriticalness and send her on her way. He certainly had his pick of women to satisfy whatever needs he had, so what reason would there be to keep her around?

She felt him cup the side of her face and turn her to face him. "Haley." She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him. "I'm not going to pressure you into anything, ok? And if it comes across like I am then tell me, because I don't want to. Whenever you're ready, I'll be ready too." He smiled and leaned down to kiss her, lingering for a moment before sitting back up.

Haley sat back up too, running a hand through her hair. She let out a long yawn. "Please tell me it's late and I'm not a complete dork for being tired already."

Nathan laughed and looked at the clock. "Nah, it's almost 1." He grabbed one of her hands and held it in his. "You're a real party animal."

Haley smiled. "Very funny. But I think I should probably head back to my apartment soon."

"You can stay here if you want. I promise I'll be on my best behavior the whole time." He smiled his best cheesy smile. It was very hard to resist.

"I don't know…"

Nathan saw her caving and jumped on it. "Plus, it's still raining outside. You don't want to get wet, do you?"

Who was she to deny his logic? "I guess not."

Nathan's cheesy smile turned into a real one. "Great. Let me get his cleaned up and then we'll get you something more comfortable to sleep in."

Haley helped gather up the remains of their dinner and throw them away in the kitchen before they headed down the hallway. Nathan guided her into the last room on the right. His bedroom was definitely bigger than hers, but then again the whole apartment was. He walked over to a dresser and started digging through some clothes, pulling out some sweat pants and a t-shirt. He handed them to her and pointed to another door.

"You can change in the bathroom if you'd like. I'll go change in the other one." He had _two _bathrooms? Yeah, his apartment definitely beat hers. She went into the bathroom and put on the clothes he gave her, and then tried to clean herself up as best she could before going back out into the bedroom. Nathan was already back, picking up some stuff and putting it away. When he saw her come out he went over to the bed and started pulling back the covers.

"You can sleep in here."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

He gestured back towards the living room. "I'll crash on the couch. It's no big deal."

Haley looked at the bed, then back at Nathan. "I'm pretty sure two people can fit in here."

"Are you sure?"

"As long as you stay on your side of the bed," she joked.

Nathan laughed. "Deal." He walked around as Haley crawled in under the covers. When she laid down on the pillow she recognized Nathan's smell. She inhaled deeply and savored it. For some reason it made her feel at ease, more comfortable. She felt the bed move as Nathan got in on the other side.

"Goodnight."

She rolled over to look at him. He had his back to her and was curled up. "What are you doing?"

He looked over his shoulder, smiling. "I'm staying on my side of the bed, like you said."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." She rolled back over and pulled the covers up. "Now you're just making fun of me." She felt Nathan turn and lay behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into him.

"I'm sorry. Best behavior. I promise."

Haley waited a minute before putting her hand over his and holding him close to her. "I still don't know why I picked such an abusive boyfriend," she teased.

"You know you like it."

Haley felt him kiss the top of her head. She knew after sleeping with him tonight she'd never be able to sleep well on her own again. After the last night they'd spent together, which had been almost a month ago, it had taken Haley a good week or two before she figured out why she couldn't sleep well anymore. It was because she didn't have Nathan's arms around her, protecting her, keeping her safe. He probably didn't realize how he was making her feel. After a few minutes she felt him lean in to whisper in her ear.

"Oh Sylvia?"

Haley giggled and played along. "Yes, Mickey?"

"How do you call your lover boy?"

"Come here lover boy," Haley said in her best seductive whisper.

"And if he doesn't answer?"

"Oh lover boy."

"And if he _still_ doesn't answer?"

Haley laughed and turned her head to look and Nathan. "Alright, alright, you get your points for staying awake for the whole movie."

Nathan smiled. "Told you."

She smiled and gave him a kiss before turning back over. "Good night Nathan."

"Night Hales."

Haley paused internally at what he called her. Sure, Peyton and Brooke used that nickname all the time. But she hadn't had a guy call her that in, well, a very long time. But of all the people who ever called her 'Hales', it sounded the best coming from Nathan.

She smiled into the darkness and let herself fall into Nathan's embrace, never wanting to leave.

_I've had the time of my life__  
__No I never felt this way before__  
__Yes I swear it's the truth__  
__And I owe it all to you__  
__'Cause I've had the time of my life__  
__And I've searched through every open door__  
__'Til I found the truth__  
__And I owe it all to you_

-Bill Medley, _The Time of My Life_

**A/N:** Hello! So I wasn't expecting to get this chapter out so soon, but here it is! It's kind of long, that wasn't intentional, but I hope it's filled with enough Naley goodness for your liking :) Oh, and for those poor souls who _haven't_ seen Dirty Dancing, the song Nathan and Haley are singing in bed at the end is from that movie. And since I probably won't get another update out in the next couple days….MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS/HAPPY NEW YEAR! And as always, I would love to know your thoughts on the story :)


	9. Please Don't Go

_Baby please don't go__  
__If I wake up tomorrow will you still be here?__  
__I don't know__  
__If you feel the way I do__  
__If you leave I'm gonna find you__  
__Baby please don't go._

As Nathan awoke the next morning he felt like he was coming down from some sort of high. When he remembered Haley was right there next to him, lying in his arms, he knew why.

Smiling to himself, Nathan ran through the memories of the night before as he readjusted his arms around Haley, not wanting to let her go, but merely shifting to a more comfortable position, one that also allowed him to see her face. Her back was cradled into his chest and he had one arm draped across her stomach. He used his other hand to prop his head up. Haley too had one arm under her head and the other holding onto Nathan.

After a few minutes of taking in her sleeping form Haley began to stir. He couldn't think of any better way to wake up. When she started to turn towards him Nathan placed a kiss on her forehead. "Good morning."

Haley slowly opened her eyes and smiled back. "Morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully. You?"

"It was alright. Someone's snoring kept me up most of the night." He ducked before Haley had time to grab her pillow and hit him with it.

"You just think you're _so_ funny."

Nathan rolled over so he was trapping her beneath him. "Actually, I do," he said smugly. Before she could get a retort back at him he bent down to kiss her. When he pulled back he rolled back over onto his back, pulling her with him. She laid her head on his chest and wrapped an arm around his body. He wrapped his arms around her too, holding her close. He heard Haley let out a sigh.

"I can't remember the last time I slept in on a Saturday."

Nathan laughed as he looked at his clock across the room. "I can't remember the last time I've heard someone consider 9:30 sleeping in."

"It's been awhile." Just then they both heard Haley's stomach growl. He didn't have to see her face to know she started blushing. "Sorry."

"How about we go get some breakfast?"

Haley propped herself up on her elbows to look at Nathan. "Don't you have practice or something?"

"Nah, it's later this afternoon. I was thinking maybe we could hang out today. Go downtown and do something?"

Haley smiled. "I'd love to."

After a few _distractions_ while getting ready, Nathan and Haley finally made their way down to the lobby to begin their day. As they walked through the lobby Nathan gave Jimmy a nod when he opened the doors for them.

"Good morning Mr. Scott, Miss Haley."

"Morning Jimmy," they said in unison. They stepped outside and Nathan said a prayer of thanks when he saw it was sunny and not extremely cold. In the middle of November, you never knew what kind of weather you were going to get. Sometimes there would be ten feet of snow on the ground, and others it would still feel like the middle of July. Today was still chilly, but they wouldn't be freezing to death.

They headed down the block to a small café Nathan sometimes ate at with Lucas. He didn't get the connection with writers and cafes, but he thought it would be something Haley would like. He was right; the second they walked in Haley started remarking about its quaintness as they found a table. The waitress came over and they both ordered a coffee, Haley adding a blueberry scone to her order.

After a few minutes the waitress brought over their food and coffee. Nathan laughed as he watched Haley pour like five packets of sugar into her cup.

"You know, if you put enough sugar in there it's not really coffee anymore."

She gave him a glare over the rim of her mug as she took a drink. "Yeah but now it tastes better. I absolutely _love_ the smell of coffee, but I still can't get myself to drink it black." She set her cup back down and dug in on her scone. "I've been totally obsessed with these ever since I went to Paris in high school."

"Wow, you've been to France?"

She nodded. "I went after my senior year…Kind of like a senior trip thing…We spent a week in Paris…It was amazing." Haley managed to get all this out in between bites.

Nathan just leaned back in his chair and watched her. "So what else don't I know about you?"

Haley looked up at him and smiled. "Well I have twenty brothers and sisters, I swam the English Channel when I was ten, oh and I'm wanted for murder in 14 states."

They both looked at each other for a second before they started laughing. "Ok, who's the funny one now, huh?"

She smiled and looked down at the table. There was that blush again. "No no, I only have three sisters. Oh, and I'm a terrible swimmer for the record." She looked back up at him. "Um, I like to read I guess. But you kind of found me in a book store so I guess you already knew that. Oh, when I was little, on Saturday mornings my sisters and I would sit on the couch and watch cartoons and my mom would make us waffles. And then sometimes we'd-"

"Waffles?"

She looked at him questioningly, surprised he interrupted her. "Yeah, waffles."

"So you're a _waffle_ person?"

"Um, yes? Why? What're you?"

"Pancakes, duh! Pancakes totally beat waffles. Ask anyone."

"No, no way. Waffles are definitely better. They have the little holes you can put your syrup and chocolate chips in and stuff."

"Are you serious? Pancakes have the word 'cake' in them. Nothing beats that."

Haley stared at him for a minute before leaning forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Well well Mr. Scott, it seems we've got a dilemma. Think our relationship can survive something like this?"

Nathan smiled and leaned forward too. "Oh I think we can work something out." He gave her a quick kiss before leaning back in his seat. "Besides, eventually you'll come to see that pancakes are better than waffles and we won't have this problem anymore."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh is that so?"

"Yep. I'd bet on it."

"Well then, why don't you tell me everything I don't know about _you_? Like why you think pancakes are so much better than waffles, for starters."

Nathan started messing with his coffee cup on the table. "Well, when _I_ was little, I didn't get to watch cartoons on the couch while eating breakfast on Saturday mornings. We always had a brunch in the dining room. _Every_ weekend. Basketball was the only reason we'd ever miss. And no matter what all was served, we _always_ had pancakes. I don't really know why but this was the only meal during the week my parents didn't spend yelling at each other or arguing over something. On Saturday mornings no one was mad or upset. It was nice."

He looked up and saw Haley smiling at him. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. "Pancakes are starting to look better."

Nathan laughed. "I told you you'd surrender eventually." He looked around, feeling a little uncomfortable at being so open. But with Haley, he felt like he could tell her anything and everything. She just had a certain quality about her and when he was near her all his walls came down and he was hers, completely. Do they have a word for that? Love, maybe? No, no way. It was way too early for love. Or was it?

He cleared his throat and jumped from his thoughts. "So, what're we going to do today?"

He smiled when Haley's eyes lit up. "I have an idea."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"This doesn't have anything to do with your 'being wanted in 14 states for murder' thing does it?"

She pondered for a moment. "Maybe."

Nathan laughed. He had the feeling that no matter how long Haley would be in his life, she'd never cease to amaze him. "Well alright then, let's get started." They finished off their coffee and Nathan left enough money to cover their bill as they got up to leave.

Once outside Nathan wrapped an arm around Haley and pulled her into him as they walked. The city was more awake now and there were more people crowding the sidewalks, but Nathan and Haley were in their own world. Sharing stories back and forth, he was finally seeing exactly what made Haley into the woman she is today.

Haley led them here and there for a while when she suddenly got really excited. "We're almost there!"

"Where?"

"The ice skating rink!"

"What?"

She looked up at him. "The ice skating rink." She saw the look that crossed his face. "See, this is why I didn't tell you before. I knew you'd say no."

"Yeah, well, with good reason. I don't skate."

"That doesn't mean you can't learn."

"I didn't say I _couldn't_ skate. I said I _don't_ skate. There's a difference."

"Yeah, one means you're too scared to go ice skating with your girlfriend."

"That's not what it means. It means I don't want to injure myself."

"Oh I see. Well then I guess we could find something that you can't hurt yourself doing, like feeding the ducks. Oh wait, what if one bites you?" she mocked.

Nathan knew she was joking, but he also knew she really wanted to do this. "Fine. Let's go ice skating."

A huge grin spread across her face. She reached up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss. "It'll be fun. You'll see."

Twenty minutes later Nathan found himself falling down on the ice, and not for the first time. He watched all the other skaters go on by, staring at him as they passed. Yep, that's a professional basketball player on his ass because he can't skate to save his life. It didn't help that Haley always came skating up beside him, trying not to laugh.

"Are you ok? Maybe we should get you a pillow or something."

"I'll be alright," he grunted as he took her hand and tried to get up.

"You were right, you might get injured skating."

Nathan laughed. Now she's asking for it. He pulled on her arm and she fell down on top of him. 

"Nathan! What're you doing?"

"Just thought you'd like to see the view from down here for a while."

She laughed and slapped his leg. "Very funny. Now help me up."

He pretended to help push her up but then let her fall back down on him, laying him on his back with her on top of him.

"Nathan Scott, you are _so_ not helping."

"Maybe I like it down here with you."

She stopped trying to get back up and looked at him. "Well you _are_ pretty comfortable." She smiled and leaned down to kiss him. It took everything Nathan had to keep that kiss from go on forever.

Their next attempt at getting up was more successful, but Nathan only made it around the rink a few more times before calling it quits. Haley helped him over to the benches and they sat for a few minutes. He tried to take an inventory of all the muscles he might've injured.

"I guess this is a little different from basketball."

Nathan snorted. "You could say that. Basketball is definitely easier than this."

Haley nudged him with her shoulder. "Hey now, some of us just aren't athletic like that. What made you want to play in the NBA anyways?"

"I don't really know. I mean, my dad drilled it into my head the second I started playing. But at the same time he always made it sound like getting to the NBA was only a dream and I'd never be good enough. That definitely made me work harder to get here. So that's part of the reason I guess. But basketball really is a huge part of my life and I don't want to lose it." He wrapped an arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder. "You're another huge part of my life," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. He wasn't sure if he heard him, but it felt good to say it.

After a few minutes Haley pulled back and looked at him. "Alright, since you agreed to endure this torture for me you get to pick what we do next."

"How about we walk for a bit? I think I need to stretch out my muscles and make sure I didn't break anything," he laughed. His body definitely wasn't up for the beating the ice rink just gave him.

Haley smiled back. "Sounds good." They started to stand up but Nathan fell back down on the bench. "Uh, maybe we should take off your skates first."

"That would probably be a good idea."

After they returned their skates and got their shoes back on they headed for Central Park. Certain areas reminded Nathan of their first date and he couldn't be happier that it had been successful. He'd already experienced a life without Haley before. He wasn't sure if he could do it again.

They made their way around the park, stopping every now and then when they passed a musician and Haley insisted they danced, at least for a bit. Unfortunately for him, time flew by and eventually they were making their way back to her apartment.

"If you get into trouble at practice just have your coach call me and I'll tell him it's my fault his star player is waddling up and down the court."

"Oh I'm sure the team would love it if you did that." He smiled. "They all like you by the way. The guys on the team."

Haley turned to face Nathan once they got in front of her apartment. "They do? But I haven't met them."

Nathan shrugged. "That's just what they said. Something about me being more pleasant to be around since we started dating." Of course, Nathan didn't need his teammates to tell him he was happier now that he was with Haley. The fact that his heart wanted to burst out of his chest every time he thought of her was proof enough.

"And that's a good thing, right?"

Nathan bent down to kiss her. "That's a _very_ good thing," he whispered against her lips. He felt her wrap her arms around his head and pull him closer. When they finally pulled apart Nathan took both of her hands in his.

"So I was wondering…."

"Yeah?"

"What are your plans for Thanksgiving?"

He saw Haley get a little flustered at his question and he hoped he wasn't being too forward. "Well my parents are in California visiting one of my sisters, so I was probably going to stay here with Peyton and Brooke."

"Oh, ok. Well I was going to see if you'd want to, um, come spend Thanksgiving with me and my family. But if you have other plans-"

"I'd love to."

Nathan let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Really?"

Haley smiled. "Really."

"Great. Well I'll call you tonight then, ok?" She nodded. He gave her a quick kiss then made his legs take him away before he wouldn't be able to. "Bye Hales."

She gave him a small wave. "Bye Nathan."

He glanced back after a few steps to make sure she got into her apartment. Then he picked up his pace to get back and ready for practice. He didn't care that his ass still hurt like hell, or that his feet felt like a train had rolled over them. Every minute he spent with Haley was better than the last, and he wanted the minutes to last forever. Maybe this love thing wasn't so crazy after all.

xxxxx

After hanging up the phone Haley let out the laugh she'd been holding in for the last half hour. Apparently Nathan had had a little difficulty at practice, but since she was the one who made him go ice skating she couldn't very well sit there and laugh at him. He'd stolen some ice from the training room after practice and when he got to his apartment he was going to, in his words, 'ice his ass until he couldn't feel it no more'.

Haley left her room and walked out into the living room where Peyton was sitting on the couch watching something on tv. She went over and plopped down next to her.

"Hey."

"Hey." Peyton didn't take her eyes off the screen.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"You positive?"

"Yeah."

Haley stared at her for a minute before getting up and standing in front of the tv, blocking her view.

"Hales, c'mon."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

Haley folded her arms and tapped her foot.

"It's just stupid stuff with Jake. That's all."

Peyton flipped off the tv and Haley went back over to sit next to her. "What happened last night?"

"It's nothing. I, we, he just wasn't sure when he'd be back up here again. It could be a few weeks, or a few months. It just really sucks not getting to see him very often. It makes you wonder if it's worth it, you know?"

Haley hugged her best friend. "Well if you love him, and he loves you, then you guys will find a way to work everything out. You'll just have to wait and see. And no matter what happens, me and Brooke will always be here for you."

"Thanks Hales." Peyton pulled back and wiped away some of the tears that had started to make their way down her face. "You know, a month ago you wouldn't have been like this at all."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just that now that you're dating Nathan you're a lot more happy and upbeat. I like it."

"Brooke said something like that earlier. Was I really that depressing before?"

Peyton laughed. "You certainly had your moments. But that's different now, right?"

Haley felt the blush starting to creep into her cheeks. "Yep, it's fine." She was hoping Peyton wouldn't press anymore, but she wasn't that lucky.

"Oh no, I spilled. Now you have to."

"What's there to tell?"

"Well, do you love him?"

"I don't know."

"Not even a little?"

"Maybe, I guess." Haley sank into the couch and sighed. "Things are just really good right now." She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face.

"Well they must be pretty good since you stayed over last night."

Haley jumped up and pointed a finger. "I told you _nothing_ happened."

Peyton held up her hands defensively. "Whatever you say." She gave Haley a pat on the leg and smiled. "I'm really happy for you Hales."

"Thanks Peyt." The two girls sat there for a second, before Haley noticed the abnormal silence. "Where's Brooke?"

"In her room getting ready."

"For what?"

"You know, I'm not really sure." They looked at each other for a second before jumping off the couch and barging into Brooke's room.

"My God guys, what are you doing in here?"

"Where are you going Brooke Davis?"

"Um, just out." She started gathering things and putting them into her purse.

"Like 'date'out or just 'out'out?"

"Just 'out' out. No biggie."

Haley laughed. "C'mon Brooke. Spill."

Brooke sat on the bed with a huff. "It's just a date ok? Geez, don't make a big deal out of it."

Peyton went to sit next to her. "Alright, so who is it?"

"No one. You guys don't know him. It probably won't go anywhere either. It's just a date."

Just then the girls heard a knock at the front door. Brooke jumped up and ran for the hallway, starting to close the bedroom door behind her. "I'll, um, be back later. Don't wait up."

Haley and Peyton heard Brooke mumble something as she opened the front door and then it locked again. The two hurried off the bed and back out to the couch where they peeked through the curtains to get a glimpse of Brooke's mystery man. Peyton got there first.

"I think I've seen him before."

"Oh my God." Haley blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing this right.

"Wait, isn't that…" Peyton turned to Haley.

"Nathan's brother."

"Does Nathan know about this?"

"No."

"Did _you_ know about this?"

"Hell no!"

Peyton looked back out the window and watched until they couldn't see them anymore. Both sat back, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Last night Brooke made it look like she hated Lucas. So why would she be going out with him?"

"Beat's me."

"Oh my God."

Peyton laughed. "You can say that again."

"Oh my God."

_Baby please don't go__  
__If I wake up tomorrow will you still be here?__  
__I don't know__  
__If you feel the way I do__  
__If you leave I'm gonna find you__  
__Baby please don't go._

-Mike Posner, _Please Don't Go_

**A/N**: Hello everyone! I hope y'all are having an awesome holiday so far and got to spend some time with loved ones :) Here's another fluff update!

Oh, and I'd like to ask: What kind of person are YOU? Waffles or pancakes? :)


	10. Long Trip Alone

_It's a long trip alon,e over sand and stone__  
__That lie along the road that we all must travel down__  
__So maybe you could walk with me a while__  
__And maybe I could rest beneath your smile__  
__Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold__  
__'Cause it's a long trip alone_

"Seriously guys. Come on. Don't make me come back there and sit in between you." Haley turned back around in the passenger seat and focused on the road. _Almost there, almost there_ she chanted to herself.

When Nathan suggested driving down to Tree Hill, North Carolina for his family's Thanksgiving Haley thought it would be a neat road trip and so they invited Brooke and Lucas along too. What she didn't anticipate was that Brooke and Lucas would be making out like teenagers in the backseat the entire way there.

When Brooke didn't come home from her date with Lucas that night Haley and Peyton had started to worry. Knowing Brooke, though, anything was possible. But there was no way they would've guessed that she would end up actually liking Lucas, let alone spending the night with him.

Since then they'd been inseparable. Haley was sure she'd seen more of Lucas the last few days than her own boyfriend. There was just something wrong about that. Not to mention the fact that she'd been feeling sick off and on all week. But there was no way she was missing this trip with Nathan. He'd seemed somewhat relieved that she was going to be there with him to help him get through all the 'family time' and she wasn't going to let him down because of an upset stomach.

Nathan reached over from the driver's seat and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "We're almost there, I promise."

Haley laughed. "You've been saying that a lot the last hour."

"Just trying to help ease the pain. You're not feeling sick again are you?"

"Only from what's going on back there," she nodded towards the backseat.

Nathan pointed at an upcoming sign. "Well this time we really are almost there. The sign says so."

Haley looked up and saw a 'Welcome to Tree Hill' sign. She'd never in her life heard of this town, but she was interested in it for the sole purpose that it was where Nathan grew up.

"Thank God. I don't know how much more of that I can take."

"Geez Hales, always the party pooper," Brooke retorted from behind her. She kept complaining but Haley didn't really care what she was saying. If she was able to talk then that meant Lucas wasn't all over her.

After a few more minutes Nathan finally pulled up in front of a house that Haley assumed was where Lucas's mom lived, since Lucas and Brooke were going to stay with her.

Nathan turned around in his seat. "Alright, you two, out. The trunk's open."

Haley laughed. Apparently he was just as fed up with Lucas and Brooke as she was. But really, twelve hours was all she could take with them and their 'lovey-dovey' crap. "Bye Brooke, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya Hales."

Nathan waited until Brooke and Lucas got inside before heading towards his parents' house. Haley started going back over all the names of Nathan's and Lucas's family.

"Ok, your mom's name is Deb. And your dad's is Dan, but he's also Lucas's dad?"

"I think the term 'dad' is a little farfetched for his and Lucas's relationship, but yeah."

"And his mom's name is Karen, right?" Nathan nodded. "And she's married to Keith?"

"Yep."

"Who's also your uncle."

"Yep."

"And Lucas's uncle?"

Nathan laughed. "Well yeah. But he adopted Lucas in high school after he and Karen got married. So I guess technically he's his dad." He let out a low whistle. "Our family sounds seriously messed up when you put it all together like that."

Haley smiled. It wasn't your typical family, that's for sure. "Ok, and they have a daughter named Lily?"

"Yeah. And she's really excited to meet you and Brooke. That's all she talked about when I was on the phone with her the other day."

"You talk to her on the phone?"

"Every now and then. Karen called to see what time we'd be getting in tonight, Lucas wasn't answering his phone or something, but I got to talk to Lily for a few minutes."

"And how old is she?"

"I think she's nine, but don't hold me to that."

Haley laughed and looked back out the window. She couldn't really see anything because it was so dark, but most of the buildings downtown were lit up and looked spectacular. After a few more blocks Nathan pulled into a driveway.

"And this is where I grew up."

Haley looked out of the window and took in one of the biggest houses she'd ever seen.

"You grew up here?"

"Yep."

"Wow." She got out of the car and went back to help Nathan with the bags. "Nathan, this house is amazing."

Nathan let out small chuckle. "Wait until you see what's inside. You won't think it's amazing when we leave." He shut the door and they started walked up the front steps.

"Is it really that bad?"

They stopped right before they got to the door. "Some days yes, some days no. I guess we'll see." He bent down to give her a kiss. "But it'll definitely be better with you here."

Haley smiled and followed Nathan through the front door. She thought the outside was incredible, but it didn't have anything on the inside. She heard someone start running down the hallway.

"Nathan? Nathan! You guys made it!"

Nathan set down their suitcases and hugged his mother. "Mom, I told you that you didn't have to wait up for us." Haley laughed as she watched Deb have to stretch up on her toes to hug her son. Obviously Nathan didn't get his height from her.

"Oh are you kidding? I haven't seen you in weeks. Well, besides on the tv I mean." She peered around Nathan to find Haley.

"And you must be Haley." Before Haley had a chance to say anything Deb had her wrapped up in a hug too. "It's so good to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Scott."

"Oh honey, call me Deb. Mrs. Scott makes me sound so old." Deb wheeled around and pointed a finger at Nathan. "Not a word from you mister."

Nathan laughed and held up his hands defensively. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Uh huh, you never do. Well, your father's around her somewhere. I think he's in his den watching a game or something."

"Glad to see some things never change." Nathan bent down and picked up some boxes, holding them out like he wasn't sure what to do with them. "Well, Haley brought some stuff for the dinner tomorrow-"

"Oh you didn't have to do that Haley."

Haley took the boxes from Nathan. "It's not much, just a couple of pies."

"Oh what kind?"

"Um, peach and apple."

"Homemade?"

"Of course."

Deb smiled and turned to Nathan. "I like this one." She gestured for Haley to follow her. "Here, we'll go put them in the kitchen. Nathan you can go put your stuff in your room and tell your father to come out here and be social."

"Yes mom." Haley stopped briefly as she passed Nathan, giving him a quick kiss, before running after his mom. She walked through all the rooms and marveled at their beauty. Her house growing up definitely wasn't this grand. Instead of portraits by famous artists they had finger-painted and macaroni noodle pictures from kindergarten.

Haley followed Deb into a huge kitchen. Deb looked around for a minute before clearing a spot on the counter and putting the pies there. She turned around and clasped her hands.

"Well, it looks like you guys have had a long drive. Can I get you something to drink? A glass of wine or something?"

"Actually, a glass of water would be great. If you tell me where the glasses are I'd be happy to get it myself."

Deb waved her off. "Nonsense. Sit, make yourself at home."

Haley walked over and sat in one of the kitchen chairs. "You have a really beautiful home Mrs. Scott-er,Deb," she corrected.

"Well thank you. It was a little hard keeping up with when Nathan was younger and we had boys running rampant all over the place." She came over to the table and sat down next to Haley. "So tell me about yourself. Nathan says you're a teacher?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, I teach music at an elementary school in the city."

"But you also perform too? Nathan said he saw you play."

Haley felt the blush start creeping into her cheeks. She still couldn't believe Nathan had seen her sing at the auction. Performing in front of people she didn't know wasn't a problem, but if she'd known he was there, there's no way she would've gone on that stage.

"Actually, I haven't performed in a really long time." Haley messed with the glass in front of her. "But I'd do it every day if I could."

"Well I can tell you you're certainly a better singer than Nathan. In third grade his class learned a bunch of Christmas songs and put on a little show and his singing was so bad the teacher gave him a bell to ring and told him to play that instead and-"

"Mom, stop! You're going to scare her away." Haley looked up and saw Nathan coming into the kitchen. "All you have to say is that I can't sing and leave it at that."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" She turned back to Haley. "He can't cook either. Has he tried to cook for you yet?" Haley shook her head. "Good. Don't let him. I swear one of these days he's going to burn the whole house down instead of just the kitchen."

Haley laughed and turned to Nathan who'd found the chair next to hers. "You burnt a kitchen?"

Nathan was quick to change the subject. "How about we get to bed? We have to be up early and stuff tomorrow so, yeah."

Deb smiled and they all got up from the table. "Don't worry Haley, I'll tell you about that later. Nathan, did you go talk to your father?"

"Yeah, he said he was finishing up some stuff and he'd be out."

"Alright. Well be sure to show Haley around and tell her where all the important stuff is."

"Got it mom."

Deb gave them each one last hug before leaving the kitchen. "Good night."

After she was gone Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley and leaned in to kiss her.

"So are you going to give me the fifty cent tour or what?"

"Fifty cents huh? Gee what can I get myself with that?"

"Buy yourself a pair of ear plugs so my snoring doesn't keep you up," she teased.

"So you're admitting you snore?" Haley punched him in the stomach. "Ow, you know if you kill me you'll never get a tour."

"I don't know, I bet your mom would show me around. Maybe even tell me some more stories about you."

"Alright fine, let's get this started." Nathan took Haley's hand and started showing her through the rooms on the bottom floor. Haley didn't know there could be so many rooms in one house. They were almost done with the tour upstairs when they ran into Nathan's father. This introduction was a little more awkward.

"Dad, this is Haley. Haley, this is my dad."

Haley figured Dan wasn't quite as friendly as Deb was, so she held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Scott."

He looked at her hand for a second before taking it. "It's nice to meet you Haley. We've heard _so_ much about you."

The way Dan was looking at Nathan told Haley this was probably the problem Nathan was talking about. Nathan put a hand on her back and started to lead her down the hallway.

"Well we were just on our way to bed, so night dad."

"You two keep it down in there. Some of us would like to get some sleep tonight."

Haley felt Nathan turn back around. "Dad stop, you don't even-"

"We'll do our best Mr. Scott," Haley interrupted. She pulled on Nathan's hand and led him down the hall. She had no idea where they were going, but anywhere was better than there. Soon Nathan pulled them into a room and shut the door behind him.

"I can't believe he said that."

"Nate, it's alright. Don't worry about it."

"But he's making stupid assumptions. That doesn't bother you?"

Haley smiled. "Um, I live with Peyton and Brooke. I'm around assumptions all the time." She wrapped her arms around Nathan's waist. She'd never really seen him upset like this over anything before. "Can you let it go? For me? Pretty please?" She batted her eyelashes for emphasis, and that got a smile out of him.

"Alright, but only for you." He gave her a kiss. "Now, let me show you where all the stuff in the bathroom is so when my mom asks you about it tomorrow you can tell her I was the perfect host."

They went into the bathroom and Haley got cleaned up. While Nathan was in there Haley went back to his room and looked over all the basketball trophies and medals in his room. His medal for winning state during high school had a picture of the team next to it. She went through each kid on the team until she figured out which one was Nathan. She let out a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" Nathan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Do you know how dorky you looked in high school?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I had no trouble getting girls to date me."

She turned to look at him. "Oh is that so?"

"Well, you know, we just read books, and stuff. Nothing exciting."

"Uh huh, sure." Haley started to walk over to the bed.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you didn't have lots of boyfriends in high school?"

"I only had one actually." She pulled back the covers and she and Nathan got in. She laid there like she was trying to go to sleep, hoping Nathan would drop the subject but he wouldn't.

"Just one? For how long?"

Haley rolled over to face him. "We started dating our freshman year and broke up after we graduated. That's all."

"That's _all_? Hales, that's like four years!"

"So?"

"So…he must've been really important if you dated him that long."

"He was." Nathan's face told her he didn't like that answer. "Oh come on, you're not _jealous_ are you?" Now he put on his 'tough man' face.

"Me? Jealous? No way."

"I don't know. Your eyes are starting to look a little green." She felt Nathan's hand start to creep across her stomach and she knew what was coming. "Nathan, don't you dare-" She tried to push his hand away but it was no use. Tickling had become a sort of torture method for him to get her to do just about anything.

"Take it back."

"Nathan….please….stop…"

"Not until you take it back."

"Nathan…please…" she tried to whisper, "your…parents….hear….us…."

"Then you better do it quick."

"Ok…ok…I take it back." She caught her breath when Nathan finally stopped and rolled over on top of him. "Besides, you're a lot cuter than he is."

"Promise?" Nathan whispered.

"Promise." She smiled and leaned down to kiss him. After a bit she rolled back over and let sleep overtake her. She felt Nathan wrap his arms around her and pull her into him. This was definitely becoming one of her favorite places to be.

_It's a long trip alone, over sand and stone__  
__That lie along the road that we all must travel down__  
__So maybe you could walk with me a while__  
__And maybe I could rest beneath your smile__  
__Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold__  
__'Cause it's a long trip alone_

-Dierks Bentley, _Long Trip Alone_

**A/N**: Hello! Hope everyone is recovering from the holidays well and having better luck sticking to their New Years' resolutions than I am :) And thanks for everyone who's been updating! You guys seriously make my day! Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to drop a review and let me know what you think!


	11. More Than All Of My Love

_Forgive me for all that I've done_

_Only thought of myself for so long_

_I'm just trying to give you something more_

_More than just all of my love_

As Haley awoke the next morning she felt an absence around her. When she rolled over and threw her arm across the bed she figured out why; Nathan was gone.

She sat up and looked around his room, smiling at where she was but a little sad that he wasn't with her. One thing she was grateful for, though, was that this was the first morning in the last week that she hadn't felt sick.

She started to get out of bed and heard some sort of banging going on outside. She walked over to the window and looked out. Nathan was playing basketball in the driveway. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw it was a little after 8.

Letting out a small yawn, Haley threw on some jeans and a sweatshirt and went to find her way downstairs. She was as quiet as possible, not really wanting to deal with Dan without Nathan with her. Luckily Deb was the only person she ran into, and she was very helpful in giving Haley directions to the front door.

She walked outside and followed the sidewalk down to the driveway just in time to see Nathan sink a shot from behind a line painted on the concrete. From what she learned from Clay at the game she went to, that was a 3-pointer.

"Nice shot."

Nathan turned around as he walked over to the basket to get his basketball and smiled when he saw it was her. "Thanks."

Haley walked over and gave him a kiss. "You're out awfully early."

"Just thought I'd get a little practice in. I didn't want to wake you up."

Haley smiled and took the basketball from his hands. "Well if your girlfriend can steal the ball from you then it would seem you need a _lot_ of practice."

Nathan backed up and got into his defense position. "Alright, let's see what you've got."

Haley took a couple more steps back and looked up at the basket. It seemed a lot farther away now than it did a few minutes ago. She started to dribble, trying to figure it out before she started moving around. In no time Nathan had snatched the ball away from her and was going in for a lay-up. He turned around and gave her a big smile. Haley stood with her arms crossed.

"Now you're just showing off."

Nathan handed her back the basketball and backed up again. "Well it would look pretty bad if an NBA player's girlfriend could beat him at his own game. Try again."

Haley took the ball and tried dribbling again. She looked at Nathan, standing there with a cocky smile on his face. There was no way she was going to try to get past him again. She picked up the basketball, looked at the basket, mustered up all the strength she could, and launched the ball into the air.

It didn't go anywhere near the basket.

She saw Nathan trying to hold in his laugh as he went to get the ball from the bushes it landed in. "That wasn't, uh, too bad. We just need to work on your aim a little bit."

"Maybe I should quit before I hit your car or break a window or something."

Nathan took her hand and pulled her closer to the basket. "Maybe we should start a little closer to the basket." He started to show her how to hold the ball, where to put her hands, and how to release it properly. Haley had no idea it could be so complicated and after her eighth or ninth attempt she was starting to have a newfound respect for basketball players. It definitely wasn't as easy as it looked.

One shot, if you could even call it that, hit the front of the rim and bounced right back at her. Luckily Nathan was quick and reached out to grab it before it smacked her in the face.

It took a few minutes before her heart rate got back down to normal. "Nathan I think this is a lost cause."

"You're at least getting it to the basket. Now you just need to get it up in the air more."

Her next shot definitely got up in the air more, but didn't even make it to the basket. As Nathan went to go get her rebound she heard clapping coming from behind them. They both looked back and saw Dan standing on the sidewalk.

"Nice shot Haley. You know, I hear the Charlotte Stings are looking for a new point guard. You should think about trying out."

Haley felt Nathan come up and stand behind her. "What do you want dad?"

"Your mom told me to ask you to come inside and get cleaned up and help her in the kitchen. But I'll tell her you're busy with some charity work." He turned and headed back for the front door.

Nathan started to rush after him but Haley grabbed his arm. "Nathan stop."

When he turned back to her he had that look on his face again, the one he had the night before after their first run-in with Dan. It hurt Haley to know that this was the kind of relationship Nathan had with his father. That just wasn't something someone should have to live with.

Haley put a hand on his cheek and tried to turn his face towards her, but ended up having to move herself to look at him. "Nate, will you talk to me please?" It took him a minute before answering her.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I should've known he'd be like this. I don't know why I thought he'd be different with you."

"Hey, this is _not_ your fault ok? I came because I want to spend time with _you_. Not your dad." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "It'll be ok. I promise." She felt Nathan give in and wrap his arms around her waist.

"I just don't know what to do anymore. Nothing I do is ever good enough for him."

Haley pulled back and took his face in her hands. "It's good enough for me, ok?"

Nathan smiled. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?" He leaned down and kissed her. "C'mon, let's go see what my mom needs help with in the kitchen."

"Yeah, maybe you can burn it again today."

A few hours later Haley was putting her knowledge of Nathan's family tree to use. Karen and Keith had shown up first with Lily, Brooke and Lucas coming a little later. Then Nathan's grandparents had shown up. Nathan had been right; Dan was exactly like his father. Haley decided to stay away from them both for as long as possible.

Nathan had also been right about Lily being excited to meet her and Brooke. When she got there she ran to Haley and didn't leave her side until Brooke got there a little later.

One last person showed up that Haley didn't know. Nathan told her it was his high school basketball coach, Whitey Durham. He looked like one of those old guys that could get along with just about anyone. She proved herself right when he sat down next to her at the table for their meal that afternoon. With Brooke on her right, Nathan found himself sitting on the other side of Whitey, unfortunately next to his father.

"So you're the gal Nathan's been talking about?"

Haley blushed as everyone started passing food around. "Well I hope so."

Whitey laughed. "Judging by how unhappy Nathan is sitting over here next to me I'm guessing you are."

"Well if he gets out of hand I've found giving him a good punch usually sets him straight for a while."

He laughed his little old man laugh again. "You learn fast. Nathan better watch himself or I might just have to steal you away from him."

The rest of the meal went on without much excitement. Karen struck up a conversation with her about her job as a teacher and her music career. While they made their way through dessert the conversation of the table turned to Nathan's basketball career. Whitey seemed most interested.

"Saw you scored an impressive number of points last week Nathan. Too bad you couldn't do that for me in high school."

Nathan laughed. "Well at least I was scoring more than Lucas." The table let out a laugh as his brother popped around Brooke to join in on their conversation.

"Hey, who made the game winning shot at the state championship?"

"Well at least Lucas never choked." All heads turned down to the end of the table where Dan was sitting. "How was that one game against the Lakers last month Nathan? If I recall correctly, you scored two points? I mean wow, I can really see why they're paying you millions of dollars to make one basket every game."

"I told you dad, I was just distracted. It was a one-time thing."

"Distracted, I see. Like 'new girlfriend' distracted?" Haley suddenly felt like all eyes were on her. But from what she could see out of the corner of her eye they were all still looking at Dan.

"Haley had nothing to do with it dad, we weren't even dating then."

"So you're just that bad on your own then? I'm sure your coach loves that."

Nathan scooted back in his chair and got up, throwing his napkin on the table. "Yep, I just woke up that morning and decided I only wanted to score one basket in our next game. You're right dad. You're always right." With than Nathan walked around the table and left the room. As Haley watched she heard Dan's mother comment from the other end of the table.

"Oh Danny can't you just let the boy be?"

Haley started to get up but Whitey held her back. "Better give him some time to cool down. How about you and me step outside for some air?"

As much as Haley wanted to go after Nathan, she really didn't want to sit in the tense atmosphere now building in the room. "Sure."

Haley took a deep breath when they outside. She'd been in the city for so long she almost forgot how nice fresh air was. Not to mention the fact that it was noticeably warmer down here. She and Whitey made their way over to a bench on the porch and sat down.

"Now Haley, you have to know Nathan and Dan are similar in one thing; they had fathers who pushed them way too hard into directions they'd already picked out for them. But that's about where the similarities end. Danny unfortunately didn't learn anything and turned into his father. Nathan, on the other hand, learned from their mistakes. You could tell by the way he dealt with the Karen and Lucas situation. Dan shut them out of his life and wanted nothing to do with them. But Nathan encouraged Lucas to join the basketball team, helped Karen with her café when Lily was born; you never would've guessed Nathan was Dan's son. In fact, Nathan probably got more fatherly advice from his Uncle Keith than his own father. But the real thing that's made me believe Nathan is becoming a better man is how he's been acting since he's met you."

Haley smiled and laughed to herself. Everyone had been telling her how much better Nathan was now that he was dating her. She really needed to set the record straight about how the personal changes between her and Nathan were mutual.

"Being around Dan usually brings out the worst in Nathan. Hell, Dan brings out the worst in everybody. Always has, always will. I don't want you to think that Nathan is going to turn out like that. He's a better man than Dan will ever be. Even more so now that he's with you. Promise me you'll remember that?"

"Yes sir, I promise."

Whitey smiled and gave her a pat on the knee. They sat and talked for a few more minutes before they saw Nathan come out the front door.

"Haley, there you are."

Whitey got up off the bench and shuffled back over to the front door, giving Nathan a pat on the shoulder as he walked by. "Keep an eye on this one Nate. I really will steal her away from you if you're not careful."

Haley's heart jumped when she saw Nathan smile. "Will do Coach." He walked over and sat next to Haley, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. 

"How're you doing?"

She felt Nathan place a kiss on the top of her head. "Better now. Sorry about that."

Haley smiled and sat back up. "How many times do I have to tell you that you have nothing to be sorry about?" She brought a hand to his face and smoothed his hair back. "I _want_ to be here with you, ok?"

Nathan leaned into to kiss her, then rested his forehead on hers. "Ok."

After a few minutes Haley started to get up. "As much as I love being out here with you, I _did_ promise Lily a game of Sorry. Wanna join us?"

Nathan took her hand and they headed back inside. "Oh you don't want to play with me."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm awesome at that game. Ask anybody, I win every time I play."

"That's because you've never played with me."

"Is that a challenge Ms. James?"

"Absolutely."

_Forgive me for all that I've done_

_Only thought of myself for so long_

_I'm just trying to give you something more_

_More than just all of my love_

-Ryan Knorr, _More Than All of My Love_

**A/N:** Hi! So I know this chapter seems kind of short, but I hope it was a good insight into Nathan's past. Pretty similar to the show actually.

And the Charlotte Stings mentioned earlier is a WNBA team in Charlotte, North Carolina, for those who don't know.

Now I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you all to check out the artist of the song I used. He's one of those 'up and coming' artists, but his music is awesome so I would like to encourage you all to check him out :)

Again, thanks for reading! Drop a review and let me know your thoughts :)


	12. Someone

_You have become_

_Someone, someone_

_Who matters to me_

"Haley. Hales, wake up."

Haley rolled over, trying to figure out why Nathan was waking her up. She didn't feel like she'd overslept. When she opened her eyes she saw it was still dark in the room, meaning the sun definitely wasn't up yet.

"Nathan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I want to take you somewhere."

"Now? It's like, 3 am."

"Actually, it's a little after 6."

"Your point?"

"C'mon, I want to show you something and we need to leave now."

Against her body's wishes Haley got up and threw on some decent clothes. They left the house quietly and soon Nathan was driving them down the highway.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going yet?"

"We're going to the beach."

"The beach? Nathan, it's the middle of November. I know it's warmer here than in New York, but that doesn't mean its warm enough to go to the beach. Especially at this hour."

"No no, my family has a beach house."

"A beach house? Like, a house _on_ the beach?"

Nathan laughed. "Is there another kind? I thought we could watch the sun come up, which happens at approximately 6:54am today."

Haley looked at some of the houses they started passing. Every now and then she'd look through a gap between them and see the ocean. "Are we almost there?"

"Actually," Nathan started turning into a driveway, "we're here." They got out and Nathan pulled a blanket from the backseat before they started walking around the house. They both kicked off their shoes by the stairs that led up to the deck and rolled up their pants before getting into the sand.

Nathan led them up a yard or two from where the waves were coming up to and laid out the blanket. They both sat down, Haley in front of him leaning against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm and they sat and watched as the sun came up over the ocean.

"So have you ever been to a beach before?"

"Nope. My family didn't really take any vacations anywhere."

"Well then you need to get the full experience." He stood up and pulled her with him. "Come here."

Haley got a little hesitant as they got closer to the water. "Nathan, what're you doing?"

They stopped right where the water reached up to. "Just stand here and wait." After a few seconds a wave came towards them and washed up over their feet. The water was freezing and Haley jumped back.

"That's so cold!"

"It's not that bad." Nathan came back and tried to pull her back. She didn't budge. "Alright, you leave me no choice." He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, carrying her towards the water.

"Nathan Scott you put me down this instant." Of course he didn't listen. Instead she found herself out in the water now where the waves were reaching up to her knees. Haley braced herself as a huge wave started rolling in but it died down before it reached them.

After playing in the water for a bit more they headed back through the sand to the beach house. "I still can't believe your family has a beach house."

Nathan sighed and looked up at it. "Yeah, this was where I used to come if I just needed to get away from school or my dad or anything that was bothering me." They stopped walked and he turned to face her. "But now I can go to you and you make everything better. There's no way I could've made it through yesterday without you."

Haley's heart picked up its pace as he took both of her hands in his.

"You make me want to be a better person Haley. You make me want to be the kind of person that's good enough to be seen with you."

Her heart started beating even faster. And unfortunately, her stomach started doing some tricks of its own. Oh of all the times to feel sick.

"Nathan I-"

"No, I just need to get this out. I've never felt like this. Ever. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, just that I hate when we're not together and I love it when we are."

"No Nathan, really, I-"

"I'm almost done I promise. I know we haven't been together that long but I want to you know how much you mean to me. I love you, Haley. And I'm not saying this to pressure you or do anything like that. But yesterday made me realize how much I need you. I love you Haley, I'm _in_ love with you. And I just wanted you to know."

Haley was speechless. She couldn't believe that this _extremely_ good looking, nice, wonderful man was in love with her. Because she felt the same way. She also couldn't believe that her stomach chose this moment to make her want to hurl.

"Nathan, I-" Before she could get her response out she covered her mouth with her hand and ran around the corner of the house. She found a nice bush off to the side where she chose to kneel and let loose the contents of her stomach. She felt Nathan come up behind her and help hold her hair back. She tried to swat him away. "Nate, go away."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to see me like this." But he didn't go anywhere. He sat beside her and rubbed her back as she finished her business. She made a mental note to make an appointment with the doctor when she got back to the city so she could figure out what kind of virus was ruining her life.

"Are you ok?"

She sat back and tried to calm her body down. "Yeah."

"Is this what you've been sick with all week?" She nodded. "Hales, promise me you'll go to the doctor next week?"

"I will, I promise." They sat for a few more minutes before getting back up. Just like always, she was feeling fine now. She started to pick up where they left off but Nathan spoke first.

"I was thinking we could make breakfast here, but if you're not feeling well we can head back."

"You? Cook?"

Nathan smiled as they walked up the stairs onto the deck. "By 'make breakfast' I mean put frozen waffles into the toaster and push the button."

Haley laughed. "That sounds delicious."

"Haley if you're not up for it I promise it isn't a big deal. It's not like I don't eat enough of those at my own apartment anyways."

"No no, I'm feeling much better now. Besides, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to see you cook." She gave Nathan a playful shove. He laughed but didn't do anything back. That wasn't like him. Nathan started to open the door to the kitchen when Haley decided she really wanted to give him an answer.

"I love you too, you know." That got his attention. He turned around.

"What?"

"Well I didn't really get a chance to tell you earlier when I ran off to puke my guts out, but I do. I love you, too."

Nathan smiled and leaned down to kiss her, but Haley put her hands on his face and pushed him away.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you hear me? I was just sick. There's no way I'm letting you kiss me."

"Hales, I don't care."

"Why not?"

"Because I love you."

"Yeah, well _I _love _you_ so I'm not letting you kiss me." This was one fight Haley eventually won out. Nathan settled for kissing her on the cheek.

Nathan didn't disappoint with the frozen waffles. They were about as delicious as was humanly possible for frozen breakfast foods. And after Haley finally found herself the perfect seashell to take home with her she and Nathan headed back to his house. The first thing Haley did when they got back was run up to brush her teeth. Nathan was waiting for her when she went back into his bedroom. He started kissing her the second she closed the door and didn't stop as they made their way over to the bed.

They whispered 'I love you' probably a hundred times, but it never got old. In fact, each time Haley said it she felt like she fell more in love, if that's possible. But each time it was said the intensity of the kiss picked right back up and she lost the ability to think.

After who knows how long, they were interrupted when Nathan's cell phone rang. If it hadn't been such an obnoxious ringtone they probably would've just let it go. Nathan rolled over onto his back and answered it. "Hey Luke, what's up?"

Haley rolled over on top of him, kissing down his neck and up the side of his face that wasn't occupied with his cell phone.

"Yeah we'd love to. Ok bye." He snapped his phone shut and tossed it down onto the floor and rolled them back over.

"You're quite distracting you know."

Haley moaned as he found that spot on her neck again. "What did Luke want?"

"He wanted to know if we wanted to have lunch with him and Brooke at his mom's café before we head out of town today."

"Oh, ok. Speaking of moms, shouldn't we go hang out with yours for a bit?"

Nathan pulled back. "You're talking about my mom at a time like this?"

Haley shrugged. "I was just thinking, if I were her then I'd want to spend some time with you before you leave again." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down to her. "Besides," she whispered against his lips, "I'll have you all to myself back in New York." Nathan moaned as he leaned in to kiss her one last time.

"Alright, but you owe me."

They spent the rest of the morning visiting with Deb. Occasionally Dan would make an appearance, but then head back off somewhere else. Haley couldn't say she was too upset, and Nathan didn't seem to have a problem with it either. But soon enough the time came for them to leave. Deb insisted on sending leftovers with them and as if sensing their excuse of having a long car ride Deb pulled out a small cooler already packed. She carried it out to the car, she said out of politeness, but Haley thought she was just making sure they actually took it. Deb told Haley goodbye first, with yet another hug.

"It was so nice to meet you Haley."

"You too. I had a really great time. Thanks for letting me join you guys."

"Of course, of course. You're always welcome here. Especially if you make those pies again." Deb gave Haley a wink before walking around the car to hug her son.

"Alright, now you drive safe."

"I will mom. And I'll call you tomorrow. I promise."

"You better." She kissed him on the cheek before looking back at the front door. "I told your father to come out and say goodbye…"

"It's ok mom, really. Just tell him goodbye for us, ok?"

Deb apparently knew better than to push the issue. "Alright I will. Have a good lunch, and tell Karen I say hi."

"I will." Nathan joined Haley in the car and started it up and he rolled down the window. "Thanks again mom. I love you."

"Love you too Nathan. Be careful."

Haley smiled as she watched Deb stand in the driveway and wave until they couldn't see her anymore. Nathan reached over and took her hand as they drove downtown. Nathan parked across the street and they walked over to the café.

When they got inside Lucas and Brooke were already there, sitting at a table off in the corner. There were a couple other people there but not too many. Not surprising the day after Thanksgiving. Haley and Nathan went over to join them and Karen showed up not too long after. They chatted while they waited for their food, Nathan held Haley's hand under the table. He didn't let go when their food came and they had to do their best to eat one-handed.

Once they were done Nathan and Lucas gathered up their plates and went to take them back to the kitchen. When the boys were out of ear-shot Brooke scooted her chair closer to Haley.

"Ok, spill."

"What?"

"You and Nathan. What happened?"

"Nothing happened."

Brooke gave her the 'do you think I'm stupid?' look. "Come on. Something's different." She got even closer and lowered her voice. "Did you guys do it?"

"Brooke! Come on, I told you we're waiting."

"You were serious about that?"

"Um, yeah."

"Oh. Well then what happened? You guys are definitely acting differently."

Haley messed with her hands. "Well, um, he told me he loved me."

"And?"

"And what?"

Brooke practically jumped up and down in her seat. "What did you say?"

"Well, after I threw up-"

"You what? Seriously Haley?"

"Oh come on, it's not like I planned it. And after I was done I said it back."

Brooke rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "Oh, well that makes it all better."

"Well it did for Nathan."

Brooke smiled and gave Haley a hug. "I'm happy for you Hales. I really am."

"Thanks Brooke."

As the guys were coming back Keith and Lily came through the door. Lily ran right up to Nathan and he picked her up.

"Nathan!"

"Hey, how's my favorite girl?" Haley smiled as she watched Nathan and Lily together. Lily whispered something in Nathan's ear, and then he looked at Haley.

"I don't know, you'll have to ask her." He set Lily down and they walked over to their table. "Haley, Lily has something to ask you."

Lily looked up at Nathan before looking at Haley. "Do you really play the piano Haley?"

Haley looked and Nathan then back down at Lily. "Yes I do." She watched Lily look over at the piano in the corner then back at her.

"Will you play something for me? Pretty please?"

"I don't know, does your mom like people playing in here?"

"Yes! Yes! I do it all the time. Please please please?"

Haley looked up at Nathan and he shrugged. "Alright." She let Lily drag her over to the piano. She sat down at the bench and looked around the café. There was only one other customer left, Keith and Karen were over in a corner talking, and Lucas and Brooke were lost in themselves back at the table. Nathan was the only one watching.

Lily sat up on the bench next to her.

"What do you want me to play?"

Lily tapped her finger on her chin and thought for a moment. "Um, something you wrote."

"Something _I _wrote?"

"Yeah. Nathan said you wrote your own songs."

"Oh he did, did he?" Haley looked over at Nathan and he shrugged again.

"Yep! Pleeeeease?"

"Alright." Haley took a breath and started to play.

_Spending all your money__  
__Ain't it funny how the time goes by?__  
__First you start believing__  
__Then you're leaving for no reason__  
__And you're wondering why__  
__So till the morning breaks__  
__Go and make your mistakes__  
__Don't be surprised if your head hurts__  
__Life is for the living, the forgiven and for leaving town alive___

_Whisper in the ways__  
__Watching days and moving on__  
__You wake up every Monday then suddenly it's Sunday__  
__And the week is gone__  
__So till the morning breaks__  
__Go and make your mistakes__  
__Don't be surprised at the sunrise__  
__Life is for the living, the forgiven and for leaving town alive___

_Oh, do you wonder where it starts__  
__Where it ends__  
__What you find around the bend__  
__Oh, do you wonder where she's from__  
__Where she goes__  
__No one knows__  
__Now and then you wonder__  
__Why you're spending all your money__  
__Ain't it funny how she walks on by?__  
__She had you all believing__  
__Now she's leaving for no reason__  
__And you're wondering why___

_So till the morning breaks__  
__Go and make your mistakes__  
__Don't be surprised if your heart hurts__  
__Life is for the living, the forgiven and for leaving town alive___

_Oh, do you wonder where it starts__  
__Where it ends__  
__What you find around the bend__  
__And oh, do you wonder where she's from__  
__Where she goes__  
__No one knows__  
__Now and then___

_Oh, do you wonder where it starts__  
__Where it ends__  
__What you find around the bend__  
__And do you wonder where she's from__  
__Where she goes__  
__No one knows__  
__Now and then you wonder___

_Why life is for the living, the forgiven and the leaving town alive__  
__Life is for the living, the forgiven and the leaving town alive_

When Haley looked up after she was done she found every eye focused on her. Blush crept into her cheeks as she turned to Lily beside her. "There. What did you think?"

Lily looked up at her and grinned. "I love it!"

Haley smiled. "I'm glad. How about you play something for me and I'll go sit over there and listen ok?"

That got Lily refocused and she started playing all the songs she knew. Haley got up and went over to where Nathan was standing. "You are in big trouble mister."

"Oh come on, you were great." They sat down and Karen and Keith brought over some cups and coffee to join them.

"Nathan's right Haley, you're really good."

"Thanks Karen."

They spent a little while longer chatting, but after awhile they had to say their goodbyes and get on the road. As they were driving out of town Haley saw the 'Welcome to Tree Hill' sign, only this side said 'Thanks for visiting, Come again'. Haley smiled and sat back in her seat, bracing herself for another long drive with Lucas and Brooke in the backseat. Nathan took her hand again, as if sensing her thoughts. Haley smiled at him. This trip had definitely given her an insight into what made Nathan into who is today, and for that she would always be grateful because she now had a wonderful man who she loved, and who loved her back. Could it get any better than that?

_You have become_

_Someone, someone_

_Who matters to me_

-Long Story Short, _Someone_

**A/N:** Hello! Hope y'all liked this chapter :) For the record, the song Haley sings is _Leaving Town Alive_ by Bethany Joy Galeotti. I absolutely love that song (and all her other songs for that matter) but I thought it was semi-fitting for this chapter as well.

So yeah, let me know what you think! Oh, and the artist of the song for this chapter is another band I would highly recommend y'all check out :)


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